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Hi
FARTHEST NORTH
Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration
of the Ship ''Fram '' i8gj-g6 and of a
Fifteen Months Sleigh Journey by
Dr. Nansen and Lieut, Johansen
BY
DR. FRIDTJOF NANSEN
WITH AN APPENDIX
BY OTTO SVERDRUP
CAPTAIN OF THE FRAM
About 120 Fill/ -page and Numerous Text Illustrations
16 Colored Plates in Facsimile from Dr, Nansen's Own
Sketches^ Etched Portrait, Photogravures y and 4 Maps
IN TWO VOLUMES
Vol. it.
• • • * • • -
NEW YORK AND LONDON
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
1898
in
654644
• ••'
• ••
. - • • *
• • •
• «
• • •
• •
• • • »
• *
• • •
• • •
• • »
» •
• • .
Copyright, 1897, by Harper & Brothsrs.
All rights rtstrved.
CONTENTS OF VOL. II.
CHAP. PAGB
I. We Prepare for the Sledge Expedition. . i
II. The New Year, 1895 41
III. We Make a Start 90
IV. We Say Good-bye to the "Fram*' .... 132
V. A Hard Struggle 157
VI. By Sledge and Kayak 236
VII. Land at Last 308
VIII. The New Year, 1896 454
IX. The Journey Southward 487
APPENDIX
Report of Captain Otto Sverdrup on the Drifting of the
"Fram" from March 14, 1895.
I. March 15 to June 22, 1895 601
II. June 22 to August 15, 1895 633
III. August 15 to January i, 1896 648
IV. January i to May 17, 1896 668
V. The Third Summer 683
Conclusion 707
Index 7^5
ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. IL
PAGB
SAILING KAYAKS {Photogravure) Frontispiece
HJALMAR JOHANSEN Facing p. 2
AT THE SUPPER-TABLE (FEBRUARY I4, 1 895) 9
SCOTT-HANSEN'S OBSERVATORY 1 7
MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT IN THE SALOON 35
CAPTAIN SVERDRUP IN HIS CABIN 49
THE " FRAM " IN THE ICE {Photogravure) . . . Facing p. 54
" ALL HANDS ON DECK !" 56
"A MOST REMARKABLE MOON** 65
THE " FRAM " AFTER AN ICE-PRESSURE (JANUARY lO, 1 895) 67
THE WINTER NIGHT (JANUARY 1 4, 1 895) 7 1
A WHIST-PARTY IN THE SALOON (FEBRUARY 1 5, 1895) . 79
UPPER END OF THE SUPPER-TABLE (FEBRUARY 1 5, 1 895) 83
STOPPING A DOG-FIGHT 85
LOWER END OF SUPPER-TABLE 87
THE CREW OF THE '' FRAM " AFTER THEIR SECOND WIN-
TER (about FEBRUARY 24, 1 895) 93
THE **FRAM** IN THE ICE (1895) IO3
SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON BOARD I07
THE COOKING APPARATUS 122
THE START FROM THE " FRAM " (MARCH I4, 1895) . . 1 33
OUR LAST CAMP BEFORE PARTING FROM OUR COMRADES 1 37
A NIGHT CAMP ON THE JOURNEY NORTH 154
TAILPIECE 156
NORTHWARD THROUGH THE DRIFT - SNOW (APRIL, 1895) 1 59
NOTHING BUT ICE, ICE TO THE HORIZON (APRIL 7,
1895) Facing p. 1 62
• • •
VlU ILL USTRA TIONS
PACE
OVER DIFFICULT PRESSURE-MOUNDS (APRIL, 1895) . . . 165
"I WENT ON AHEAD ON SNOW-SHOES " 169
"ON TOLERABLY GOOD GROUND" 171
OUR NORTHERNMOST CAMP, 86° 13.6^ N. LAT. (APRIL 8,
1895) 173
"BARO,** THE RUNAWAY Facing p. 1 78
REST (APRIL, 1895) 181
JOHANSEN CARVING OUR NAMES IN A STOCK OF DRIFT-
WOOD 185
PECULIAR ICE STRATIFICATION (APRIL, 1895) 187
"WE MADE FAIRLY GOOD PROGRESS" 203
REPAIRING THE KAYAKS 24O
A COIGN OF VANTAGE. PACKED ICE 25 1
"A CURDLED SEA " 257
CHANNELS IN THE ICE IN SUMMER (jUNE, 1895) . . . 263
" SUGGEN." " KAIFAS " 2^7
CROSSING A CRACK IN THE ICE 287
JOHANSEN SITTING IN THE SLEEPING-BAG IN THE HUT . 293
CHANNELS IN THE ICE (jUNE 24, 1895) 297
MY LAST DOG, " KAIFAS " 307
"INCREDIBLY SLOW PROGRESS" 323
"THIS INCONCEIVABLE TOIL" 327
"YOU MUST LOOK SHARP !" 33O
WE REACH THE OPEN WATER (AUGUST 6, 1 895) . . . 337
ICEBERG ON THE NORTH SIDE OF FRANZ JOSEF LAND . 35 1
A PADDLE ALONG THE EDGE OF THE ICE 359
GLAZIER — FRANZ JOSEF LAND 36 1
A CAMP ON THE COAST OF FRANZ JOSEF LAND. . . . 367
CRACK IN THE ICE 375
"SAILING ALONG THE COAST" 378
A FIGHT AGAINST THE STORM TO REACH LAND (AUGUST
29, 1895) . 381
WALRUSES 387
WE BUILD OUR FIRST HUT 39O
((
<<
ILL USTRA TIONS IX
PACE
WALRUSES 397
"IN THE WATER LAY WALRUSES" 409
"I PHOTOGRAPHED HIM AND THE WALRUS" .... 417
"IT GAZED WICKEDLY AT US " 419
AT OUR WINTER QUARTERS 43 1
AN ILLEGIBLE PAGE FROM DIARY 437
OUR WINTER HUT (DECEMBER 31, 1 895) 45 1
"LIFE IN OUR hut" 456
JOHANSEN FIRED THROUGH THE OPENING" .... 468
OUR WINTER LAIR" 489
SOUTHWARD (MAY, 1 896) 49 1
OVER THE ICE TOWARDS THE ISLAND (MAY, 24, 1 896) . 495
A SAIL WITH SLEDGES. SOUTH OF CAPE RICHTHOFEN
(JUNE 6, 1896) 507
"I MANAGED TO SWING ONE LEG UP " 515
"IT TRIED TO UPSET ME" 520
OUR LAST CAMP 523
FRANZ JOSEF LAND 528
MEETING OF JACKSON AND NANSEN 53 1
MR. JACKSON'S STATION AT CAPE FLORA 535
NANSEN AT CAPE FLORA 537
A CHAT AFTER DINNER 54I
THE WOUNDED BEAR 543
JOHANSEN AT CAPE FLORA 545
A VISITOR 547
JACKSON ON CAPE FLORA 55 1
BASALTIC ROCK 554
A STRANGE ROCK OF BASALT 559
PLANT FOSSILS 56 1
KITTIWAKE ON HER NEST 565
BASALTIC CLIFFS 567
MR. JACKSON AT ELMWOOD 569
JOHANSEN IN JACKSON'S SALOON 571
CAPE FLORA. FAREWELL TO FRANZ JOSEF LAND ... 577
X ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
'*WE STOOD LOOKING OVER THE SEA*' 580
ARRIVAL AT HAMMERFEST 587
THE "WINDWARD" LEAVING TROMSO 59 1
TAILPIECE 597
ORIGINAL MAP OF KAISER FRANZ JOSEF LAND .... 599
APPENDIX
DIGGING OUT THE " FRAM " (MARCH, 1 895) 603
THE ** FRAM " WHEN DUG OUT OF THE PRESSURE-MOUND
AT THE END OF MARCH, 1 895 607
FITTING THE HAND-SLEDGES WITH RUNNERS (jULV, 1 895) 611
VIEW OVER THE DRIFT-ICE. DEPOT IN FOREGROUND . 615
PRESSURE-MOUND NEAR THE " FRAM " (APRIL, 1 895) . . 62 1
ICE-SMITHY (may, 1 895) 625
THE "FRAM" BEFORE HER RELEASE 627
THE PROCESSION (MAY 1 7, 1 895) 629
TAILPIECE 632
CHANNEL ASTERN OF THE " FRAM " (JUNE, 1895) ... 635
MOVABLE METEOROLOGICAL STATION ON THE ICE (JULY,
1895) 639
OBSERVATION WITH SEXTANT AND ARTIFICIAL HORIZON
(JULY, 1895) 645
CLEANING THE ACCUMULATORS BEFORE STOWING AWAY
(JULY, 1895) 653
WORKSHOP ON DECK (jULY, 1 895) 659
PETTERSEN AND BLESSING ON A HUMMOCK (APRIL, 1895) 673
LARS PETTERSEN ON SNOW-SHOES 679
TAILPIECE 682
FLAYING W^ALRUSES 697
TAILPIECE 706
THE MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION AFTER THEIR RETURN
TO CHRISTIANIA 7O9
COLORED PLATES IN VOL. IL
IX. LIGHT PHENOMENA IN THE POLAR NIGHT
(NOVEMBER 22, 1 893) Facing p. 96
X. THE POLAR NIGHT (NOVEMBER 24, 1 893) . . ** 1 76
XI. MOON-RING WITH MOCK MOONS, AND A SUG-
GESTION OF HORIZONTAL AXES (NOVEM-
BER 24, 1893) " 248
XII. MOONLIGHT PHENOMENA AT THE BEGINNING
OF THE POLAR NIGHT (NOVEMBER, 1 893) " ^20
XIII. STREAMERS OF AURORA BOREALIS (NOVEM-
BER 28, 1893) ** 400
XIV. ICE NEAR THE " FRAM " (JULY 4, 1 894) . . " 472
XV. AURORA BOREALIS (OCTOBER 1 8, 1 894) ... " 584
XVI. AN AURORAL CROWN (DECEMBER, 1 894) . . ** 664
FARTHEST NORTH
CHAPTER I
WE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION
Who are to be the two members of the expedition?
Sverdrup and I have tested each other before at this
sort of work, and we could manage very well; but we
cannot both leave the Fram: that is perfectly clear
without further argument. One of us must remain be-
hind to take on himself the responsibility of bringing
the others home in safety; but it is equally clear that
one of us two must conduct the sledge expedition, as
it is we who have the necessary experience. Sverdrup
has a great desire to go ; but I cannot think otherwise
than that there is more risk in leaving the Fram than
in remaining on board her. Consequently if I were to
let him go, I should be transferring to him the more
dangerous task, while keeping the easier one to myself.
If he perished, should I ever be able to forgive myself
for letting him go, even if it was at his own desire ? He
is nine years older than I am ; I should certainly feel it
II.— I
2 FARTHEST NORTH
to be a very uncomfortable responsibility. And as re-
gards our comrades, which of us would it be most to
their interest to keep on board? I think they have con-
fidence in both of us, and I think either of us would be
able to take them home in safety, whether with or with-
out the Fram, But the ship is his especial charge, while
on me rests the conduct of the whole, and especially of
the scientific investigations ; so that I ought to under-
take the task in which important discoveries are to be
made. Those who remain with the ship will be able, as
aforesaid, to carry on the observations which are to be
made on board. It is my duty therefore, to go, and his
to remain behind. He, too, thinks this reasonable.
I have chosen Johansen to be my companion, and
he is in all respects well qualified for that work. He
is an accomplished snow-shoer, and few can equal his
powers of endurance — a fine fellow, physically and men-
tally. I have not yet asked him, but think of doing
so soon, in order that he may be prepared betimes.
Blessing and Hansen also would certainly be all eager-
ness to accompany me ; but Hansen must remain behind
to take charge of the observations, and Blessing cannot
desert his post as doctor. Several of the others, too,
would do quite well, and would, I doubt not, be willing
enough.
This expedition to the north, then, is provisionally
decided on. I shall see what the winter will bring us.
Light permitting, I should prefer to start in February.
HJALMAR JOHANSEN
•II ,1 fhol^Krath laktH in Dtctmbrr. VBXi
W'E PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 3
\^
"Sunday, November i8th. It seems as if I could
not properly realize the idea that I am really to set
out, and that in three months' time. Sometimes I de-
lude myself with charming dreams of my return home
after toil and victory, and then all is clear and bright.
Then these are succeeded by thoughts of the uncer-
tainty and deceptiveness of the future and what may
be lurking in it, and my dreams fade away like the
northern lights, pale and colorless.
*' • Ihr naht euch wieder, schwankende Gestalten.*
" Ugh ! These everlasting cold fits of doubt ! Be-
fore every decisive resolution the dice of death must be
thrown. Is there too much to venture, and too little to
gain } There is more to be gained, at all events, than
there is here. Then is it not my duty } Besides, there
is only one to whom I am responsible, and she . . .?
I shall come back, I know it. I have strength enough
for the task. ' Be thou true unto death, and thou shalt
inherit the crown of life.'
" We are oddly constructed machines. At one mo-
ment all resolution, at the next all doubt. . . . To-day our
intellect, our science, all our * Leben und Treiben,' seem
but a pitiful Philistinism, not worth a pipe of tobacco;
to-morrow we throw ourselves heart and soul into these
very researches, consumed with a burning thirst, to ab-
sorb everything into ourselves, longing to spy out fresh
paths, and fretting impatiently at our inability to solve
4 FARTHEST NORTH
the problem fully and completely. Then down we sink
again in disgust at the worthlessness of it all.
" ' As a grain of dust on the balance is the whole
world; as a drop of morning dew that falls on the
ground.' If man has two souls, which then is the
right one ?
" It is nothing new to suffer from the fact that our
knowledge can be but fragmentary, that we can never
fathom what lies behind. But suppose, now, that we
could reckon it out, that the inmost secret of it all lay
as clear and plain to us as a rule-of-three sum, should
we be any the happier? Possibly just the reverse. Is
it not in the struggle to attain knowledge that happi-
ness consists .f^ I am very ignorant, consequently the
conditions of happiness are mine.
" Let me fill a soothing pipe and be happy.
" No, the pipe is not a success. Twist tobacco is not
delicate enough for airy dreams. Let me get a cigar.
Oh, if one had a real Havana !
"Hm! as if dissatisfaction, longing, suffering, were
not the very basis of life. Without privation there would
be no struggle, and without struggle no life, that is as
certain as that two and two make four. And now
the struggle is to begin; it is looming yonder in the
north. Oh, to drink delight of battle in long, deep
draughts ! Battle means life, and behind it victory beck-
ons us on.
" I close my eyes. I hear a voice singing to me:
IV£ PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 5
"*In amongst the fragrant birch,
In amongst the flowers' perfume,
Deep into the pine-wood's church.'
"Monday, November 19th. Confounded affectation
all this Weltschmerz ; you have no right to be anything
but a happy man. And if you feel out of spirits, it ought
to cheer you up simply to go on deck and look at these
seven puppies that come frisking and springing about
you, and are ready to tear you to pieces in sheer enjoy-
ment of life. Life is sunshine to them, though the sun
has long since gone, and they live on deck beneath a
tent, so that they cannot even see the stars. There is
* Kvik,' the mother of the family, among them, looking so
plump and contented as she wags her tail. Have you
not as much reason to be happy as they "i Yet they too
have their misfortunes. The afternoon of the day before
yesterday, as I was sitting at work, I heard the mill go-
ing round and round, and Peter taking food to the
puppies, which, as usual, had a bit of a fight over the
meat-pan ; and it struck me that the axle of the mill whirl-
ing unguarded on the deck was an extremely dangerous
affair for them. Ten minutes later I heard a dog howling,
a more long-drawn, uncomfortable kind of howl than was
usual when they were fighting, and at the same moment
the mill slowed down. I rushed out. There I saw a
puppy right in the axle, whirling round with it and howl-
ing piteously, so that it cut one to the soul. Bentzen was
hanging on to the brake-rope, hauling at it with all his
6 FARTHEST NORTH
might and main ; but still the mill went round. My first
idea was to seize an axe that was lying there to put the
dog out of its misery, its cries were so heartrending ; but
on second thoughts I hurried on to help Bentzen, and we
got the mill stopped. At the same moment Mogstad also
came up, and while we held the mill he managed to set
the puppy free. Apparently there was still some life in
it, and he set to work to rub it gently and coax it. The
hair of its coat had somehow or other got frozen on to
the smooth steel axle, and the poor beast had been swung
round and bumped on the deck at every revolution of
the wheel. At last it actually raised its head, and looked
round in a dazed way. It had made a good many revolu-
tions, so that it is no wonder if it found some difficulty in
getting its bearings at first. Then it raised itself on its
fore-paws, and I took it aft to the half-deck and stroked
and patted it. Soon it got on all four legs again, and
began shambling about, without knowing where it was
going.
" * It is a good thing it was caught by the hair,' said
Bentzen, ' I thought it was hanging fast by its tongue, as
the other one did.' Only think of being fixed by the
tongue to a revolving axle — the mere notion makes one
shudder! I took the poor thing down into the saloon
and did all I could for it. It soon got all right again,
and began playing with its companions as before. A
strange life to rummage about on deck in the dark and
cold; but whenever one goes up with a lantern they
IVE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 7
come tearing round, stare at the light, and begin bound-
ing and dancing and gambolling with each other round
it, like children round a Christmas-tree. This goes on
day after day, and they have never seen anything else
than this deck with a tarpaulin over it, not even the clear
blue sky; and we men have never seen anything else
than this earth !
" The last step over the bridge of resolution has now
been taken. In the forenoon I explained the whole mat-
ter to Johansen in pretty much the same terms as I have
used above ; and then I expatiated on the difficulties that
might occur, and laid strong emphasis on the dangers
one must be prepared to encounter. It was a serious
matter — a matter of life or death — this one must not
conceal from one's self. He must think the thing well
over before determining whether he would accompany
me or not. If he was willing to come I should be glad
to have him with me ; but I would rather, I said, he
should take a day or two to think it well over before he
gave me his answer. He did not need any time for re-
flection, he said ; he was quite willing to go. Sverdrup
had long ago mentioned the possibility of such an expe-
dition, and he had thought it well over, and made up his
mind that if my choice should fall on him he would take
it as a great favor to be permitted to accompany me. * I
don't know whether you'll be satisfied with this answer,
or whether you would like me still to think it over;
but I should certainly never change my mind.' * No, if
8 FARTHEST NORTH
you have already thought it seriously over — thought
what risks you expose yourself to — the chance, for in-
stance, that neither of us may ever see the face of man
again — and if you have reflected that even if we get
through safe and sound you must necessarily face a great
deal of hardship on an expedition like this — if you have
made up your mind to all this I don't insist on your re-
flecting any longer about it.' * Yes, that I have.' * Well,
then, that is settled. To-morrow we shall begin our
preparations for the trip. Hansen must see about ap-
pointing another meteorological assistant.'
" Tuesday, November 20th. This evening I delivered
an address to the whole ship's company, in which I an-
nounced the determination that had been arrived at, and
explained to them the projected expedition. First of all,
I briefly went through the whole theory of our under-
taking, and its history from the beginning, laying stress
on the idea on which my plans had been built up — namely,
that a vessel which got frozen in north of Siberia must
drift across the Polar Sea and out into the Atlantic, and
must pass somewhere or other north of Franz Josef
Land and between it and the Pole. The object of
the expedition was to accomplish this drift across the
unknown sea, and to pursue investigations there. I
pointed out to them that these investigations would
be of equal importance whether the expedition actually
passed across the Pole itself or at some distance from it.
Judging from our experiences hitherto, we could not en-
WE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 1 1
tertain any doubt that the expedition would solve the
problem it had set before it; everything had up to the
present gone according to our anticipations, and it was
to be hoped and expected that this would continue to
be the case for the remainder of the voyage. We had,
therefore, every prospect of accomplishing the principal
part of our task; but then the question arose whether
more could not be accomplished, and thereupon I pro-
ceeded to explain, in much the same terms as I have
used above, how this might be effected by an expedition
northward.
" I had the impression that every one was deeply in-
terested in the projected expedition, and that they all
thought it most desirable that it should be attempted.
The greatest objection, I think, they would have urged
against it, had they been asked, would have been that
they themselves could not take part in it. I impressed
on them, however, that while it was unquestionably a
fine thing to push on as far as possible towards the
north, it was no whit less honorable an undertaking
to bring the Fram safe and sound right through the
Polar Sea, and out on the other side; or if not the
Fram, at all events themselves without any loss of life.
This done, we might say, without fear of contradiction,
that it was well done. I think they all saw the force
of this, and were satisfied. So now the die is cast, and
I must believe that this expedition will really take place."
So we set about our preparations for it in downright
12 FARTHEST NORTH
earnest. I have already mentioned that at the end of
the summer I had begun to make a kayak for a single
man, the frame of which was of bamboo carefully lashed to-
gether. It was rather slow work, and took several weeks,
but it turned out both light and strong. When com-
pleted the frame-work weighed i6 pounds. It was after-
wards covered with sail-cloth by Sverdrup and Blessing,
when the whole boat weighed 30 pounds. After finishing
this I had intrusted Mogstad with the task of building a
similar one. Johansen and I now set to work to make a
cover for it. These kayaks were 3.70 metres (12 feet)
long, about 0.7 metre (28 inches) wide in the middle,
and one was 30 centims. (12 inches) and the other 38
centims. (15 inches) deep. This is considerably shorter
and wider than an ordinary Eskimo kayak, and conse-
quently these boats were not so light to propel through
the water. But as they were chiefly intended for crossing
over channels and open spaces in the ice, and coasting
along possible land, speed was not of much importance.
The great thing was that the boats should be strong and
light, and should be able to carry, in addition to ourselves,
provisions and equipments for a considerable time. If
we had made them longer and narrower, besides being
heavier they would have been more exposed to injury in
the course of transport over the uneven ice. As they
were built they proved admirably adapted for our purpose.
When we loaded them with care we could stow away in
them provisions and equipment for three months at least
IF£ PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 13
for ourselves, besides a good deal of food for the dogs;
and we could, moreover, carry a dog or two on the deck.
In other respects they were essentially like the Eskimo
kayaks, full decked, save for an aperture in the middle
for a man to sit in. This aperture was encircled by a
wooden ring, after the Eskimo fashion, over which we
could slip the lower part of our sealskin jackets, specially
adjusted for this purpose, so that the junction between
boat and jacket was water-tight. When these jackets
were drawn tight round the wrists and face the sea might
sweep right over us without a drop of water coming into
the kayak. We had to provide ourselves with such boats
in case of having to cross open stretches of sea on our
way to Spitzbergen, or, if we chose the other route, be-
tween Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. Besides
this aperture in the middle, there were small trap-doors
fore and aft in the deck, to enable us to put our hands in
and stow the provisions, and also get things out more
readily, without having to take out all the freight through
the middle aperture, in case what we wanted lay at either
extremity. These trap-doors, however, could be closed
so as to be quite water-tight. To make the canvas
quite impervious to water, the best plan would have been
to have sized it, and then painted it externally with or-
dinary oil paint ; but, on the one hand, it was very dif-
ficult to do this work in the extreme cold (in the hold the
temperature was —20° C, —4° Fahr.), and, on the other
hand, I was afraid the paint might render the canvas
14 FARTHEST NORTH
too hard and brittle, and apt to have holes knocked in it
during transport over the ice. Therefore I preferred to
steep it in a mixture of paraffin and tallow, which added
somewhat to the weight of the kayaks, so that altogether
they came to weigh about 36 pounds apiece.
I had, moreover, some hand -sledges made especially
for this expedition ; they were supple and strong, de-
signed to withstand the severe tests to which an expedi-
tion with dogs and heavy freights over the uneven drift-
ice would necessarily expose them. Two of these sledges
were about the same length as the kayaks — that is, 12
feet. I also made several experiments with respect to the
clothes we should wear, and was especially anxious to
ascertain whether it would do to go in our thick wolfskin
garments, but always came to the conclusion that they
were too warm. Thus, on November 29th I write:
" Took another walk northward in my wolfskin dress ;
but it is still too mild ( — 37.6° C). I sweated like a horse,
though I went fasting and quite gently. It is rather
heavy going now in the dark when one cannot use snow-
shoes. I wonder when it will be cold enough to use this
dress."
On December 9th again we went out on snow-shoes.
" It was —41° C. (— 41.8'' Fahr.). Went in wolfskin dress,
but the perspiration poured down our backs enough to
turn a mill. Too warm yet ; goodness knows if it ever
will be cold enough."
Of course, we rriade some experiments with the tent
WE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 15
and with the cooking apparatus. On December 7th I
write : " I pitched the silk tent we are going to take, and
used our cooking apparatus in it. From repeated trials
it appeared that from ice of —35'' C. ( — 31° Fahr.), we
boiled 3 litres of water (5^ pints), and at the same time
melted 5 litres (8f pints) in an hour and a half, with a
consumption of about 120 grammes of snowflake petro-
leum. Next day we boiled 2^ litres of water (over 4
pints), and melted 2i litres in one hour with 100 grammes
of snowflake petroleum. Yesterday we made about two
litres of excellent oatmeal porridge, and at the same time
got some half-melted ice and a little water in little over half
an hour, with 50 grammes of snowflake petroleum. Thus
there will be no very great consumption of fuel in the day."
Then I made all kinds of calculations and computa-
tions in order to find out what would be the most advan-
tageous kind of provisions for our expedition, where it
was of the greatest moment that the food both for dogs
and men should be nutritious, and yet should not weigh
more than was absolutely necessary. Later on, in the
list of our equipments, I shall give the final result of my
deliberations on this matter. Besides all this, we had, of
course, to consider and test the instruments to be taken
with us, and to go into many other matters, which, though
perhaps trifles in themselves, were yet absolutely neces-
sary. It is on the felicitous combination of all these
trifles that ultimate success depends.
We two passed the greater portion of our time in
l6 FARTHEST NORTH
these preparations, which also kept many of the others
pretty busy during the winter. Mogstad, for instance,
found steady employment in making sledges and fitting
them with runners, etc. Sverdrup busied himself in
making sleeping-bags and many other things. Juell was
appointed dog-tailor, and when he was not busy in the
galley, his time was devoted to taking the measurements
of the dogs, making harness for them and testing it.
Blessing, too, fitted up for us a small, light medicine-chest,
containing selected drugs, bandages, and such other things
as might be of use. One man was constantly employed
in copying out all our journals and scientific observations,
etc., etc., on thin paper in a contracted form, as I wanted,
by way of doubly assuring their preservation, to take a
copy of them along with me. Hansen was occupied in
preparing tabular forms necessary for our observations,
curves of the movement of our chronometers, and other
such things. Besides this, he was to make a complete
chart of our voyage and drifting up to the present time.
I could not, however, lay too great a claim on his
valuable time, as it was necessary that he should con-
tinue his scientific observations without interruption.
During this autumn he had greatly increased the com-
fort of his work by building, along with Johansen, an
observation-hut of snow, not unlike an Eskimo cabin.
He found himself very much at his ease in it, with a
petroleum lamp hanging from the roof, the light of which,
being reflected by the white snow walls, made quite a
WE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 19
brilliant show. Here he could manipulate his instru-
ments quietly and comfortably, undisturbed by the
biting wind outside. He thought it quite warm there,
too, when he could get the temperature up to something
like 20° below freezing-point, so that he was able without
much inconvenience to adjust his instruments with bare
hands. Here he worked away indefatigably at his ob-
servations day after day, watching the often mysterious
movements of the magnetic needle, which would some-
times give him no end of trouble. One day — it was No-
vember 24th — he came into supper a little after 6 o'clock
quite alarmed and said, " There has just been a singular
inclination of the needle to 24°, and, remarkably enough,
its northern extremity pointed to the east. I cannot re-
member ever having heard of such an inclination." He
also had several others of about 15°. At the same time,
through the opening into his observatory he noticed that
it was unusually light out-of-doors, and that not only the
ship, but the ice in the distance, was as plainly visible as
if it had been full moonlight. No aurora, however, could
be discerned through the thick clouds that covered the
sky. It would appear, then, that this unusual inclination
was in some way connected with the northern lights,
though it was to the east and not to the west, as usual.
There could be no question of any disturbance of the
floe on which we were lying; for everything had been
perfectly still and quiet, and it is inconceivable that a
disturbance which could cause such a remarkable oscilla-
20 FARTHEST NORTH
tion of two points and back again in so short a space
of time should not have been noticed and heard on
board. This theory, therefore, is entirely excluded, and
the whole matter seems to me, for the present, to be
incomprehensible. Blessing and I at once went on deck
to look at the sky. Certainly it was so light that we
could see the lanes in the ice astern quite plainly; but
there was nothing remarkable in that, it happened often
enough.
" Friday, November 30th. I found a bear's track on
the ice in front of our bow. The bear had come from the
east, trotting very gently along the lane, on the newly
frozen ice, but he must have been scared by something or
other ahead of the vessel, as he had gone off again with
long strides in the same direction in which he had come.
Strange that living creatures should be roaming about in
this desert. What can they have to do here.^ If only
one had such a stomach one could at least stand a
journey to the Pole and back without a meal. We shall
probably have him back again soon — that is, if I un-
derstand his nature aright — and then perhaps he will
come a little closer, so that we may have a good look at
him.*
" I paced the lane in front of the port bow. It was
348 paces across, and maintained the same width for a
considerable distance eastward; nor can it be much
♦ He did not return, after all.
WE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 21
narrower for a great distance to the west. Now, when
one bears in mind that the lane behind us is also of
considerable width, it is rather consoling, after all, to
9
think that the ice does permit of such large openings.
There must be room enough to drift, if we only get wind
— wind which will never come. On the whole, November
has been an uncommonly wretched month. Driven back
instead of forward — and yet this month was so good last
year. But one can never rely on the seasons in this
dreadful sea ; taking all in all, perhaps, the winter will not
be a bit better than the summer. Yet, it surely must
improve — I cannot believe otherwise.
" The skies are clouded with a thick veil, through
which the stars barely glisten. It is darker than usual,
and in this eternal night we drift about, lonely and for-
saken, 'for the whole world was filled with a shining
light and undisturbed activity. Above those men alone
brooded nought but depressing night — an image of that
gloom which was soon to swallow them up.'
" This dark, deep, silent void is like the mysterious, un-
fathomable well into which you look for that something
which you think must be there, only to meet the reflec-
tion of your own eyes. Ugh! the worn-out thoughts you
can never get rid of become in the end very wearisome
company. Is there no means of fleeing from one's self,
to grasp one single thought — only a single one, which
lies outside one's self — is there no way except death .^
But death is certain ; one day it will come, silent and
22 FARTHEST NORTH
majestic; it will open Nirvana's mighty portal, and we
shall be swept away into the sea of eternity.
" Sunday, December 2d. Sverdrup has now been ill
for some days; during the last day or two he has been laid
up in his berth, and is still there. I trust it is nothing
serious ; he himself thinks nothing of it, nevertheless it is
very disquieting. Poor fellow, he lives entirely on oat-
meal gruel. It is an intestinal catarrh, which he probably
contracted through catching cold on the ice. I am afraid
he has been rather careless in this respect. However, he
is now improving, so that probably it will soon pass off;
but it is a warning not to be over-confident. I went for a
long walk this morning along the lane ; it is quite a large
one, extending a good way to the east, and being of con-
siderable breadth at some points. It is only after walk-
ing for a while on the newly frozen ice, where walking
is as easy and comfortable as on a well - trodden path,
and then coming up to the snow-covered surface of the
old ice again, that one thoroughly appreciates for the
first time what it means to go without snow-shoes; the
difference is something marvellous. Even if I have not
felt warm before, I break out into a perspiration after
going a short distance over the rough ice. But what
can one do? One cannot use snow-shoes; it is so dark
that it is difficult enough to grope one s way about with
ordinary boots, and even then one stumbles about or
slips down between great blocks of ice.
" I am now reading the various English stories of
WE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 23
the polar expeditions during the Franklin period, and
the search for him, and I must admit I am filled with
admiration for these men and the amount of labor they
expended. The English nation, truly, has cause to be
proud of them. I remember reading these stories as a
lad, and all my boyish fancies were strangely thrilled
with longing for the scenery and the scenes which were
displayed before me. I am reading them now as a
man, after having had a little experience myself; and
now, when my mind is uninfluenced by romance, I bow
in admiration. There was grit in men like Parry, Frank-
lin, James Ross, Richardson, and last, but not least, in
M^Clintock, and, indeed, in all the rest. How well was
their equipment thought out and arranged, with the
means they had at their disposal ! Truly, there is noth-
ing new under the sun. Most of what I prided myself
upon, and what I thought to be new, I find they had
anticipated. M*Clintock used the same thing forty
years ago. It was not their fault that they were born
in a country where the use of snow-shoes is unknown,
and where snow is scarcely to be found throughout the
whole winter. Nevertheless, despite the fact that they
had to gain their experience of snow and snow travel
during their sojourn up here ; despite the fact that they
were without snow-shoes and had to toil on as best
they could with sledges with narrow runners over uneven
snow -covered drift-ice — what distances did they not
cover, what fatigues and trials did they not endure ! No
24 FARTHEST NORTH
one has surpassed and scarcely any one approached
them, unless, perhaps, the Russians on the Siberian
coast; but then they have the great advantage of being
natives of a country where snow is not uncommon.
" Friday, December 14th. Yesterday we held a great
festivity in honor of the Fram as being the vessel
which has attained the highest latitude (the day before
yesterday we reached 82° 30' north latitude).
" The bill of fare at dinner was boiled mackerel, with
parsely-butter sauce ; pork cutlets and French pease ; Nor-
wegian wild strawberries, with rice and milk ; Crown malt
extract ; afterwards coffee. For supper : new bread and
currant cake, etc., etc. Later in the evening, a grand
concert. Sweets and preserved pears were handed round.
The culminating point of the entertainment was reached
when a steaming hot and fragrant bowl of cherry-punch
was carried in and served round amidst general hilarity.
Our spirits were already very high, but this gave color to
the whole proceedings. The greatest puzzle to most of
them was where the ingredients for the punch, and more
particularly the alcohol, had come from.*
" Then followed the toasts. First, a long and festive
one to * The Fram,' which had now shown what she was
capable of. It ran somewhat to this effect: * There were
many wise men who shook their heads when we started,
and sent us ominous farewell greetings. But their head-
* We had used for this purpose our pure grape-spirit.
IVJS PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 25
shakings would have been less vigorous and their evil
forebodings milder if they could have seen us at this
moment, drifting quietly and at our ease across the most
northerly latitudes ever attained by any vessel, and still
farther northward. And the Fram is now not only the
most northerly vessel on the globe, but has already
passed over a large expanse of hitherto unknown regions,
many degrees farther north than have ever been reached
in this ocean on this side of the Pole. But we hope she
will not stop here ; concealed behind the mist of the
future there are many triumphs in store for us — triumphs
which will dawn upon us one by one when their time has
come. But we will not speak of this now; we will be
content with what has hitherto been achieved, and I
believe that the promise implied in Bjornson's greeting
to us and to the Franty when she was launched, has
already been fulfilled, and with him we can exclaim :
<t ( 14
Hurrah for the ship and her voyage dread!
Where never before a keel has sped,
Where never before a name was spoken,
By Norway's name is the silence broken.*"
"'We could not help a peculiar feeling, almost akin
to shame, when comparing the toil and privation, and
frequently incredible sufferings, undergone by our pred-
ecessors in earlier expeditions with the easy manner in
which we are drifting across unknown expanses of our
globe larger than it has been the lot of most, if not all,
of the former polar explorers to travel over at a stretch.
26 FARTHEST NORTH
Yes, truly, I think we have every reason to be satisfied
with our voyage so far and with the Fram, and I trust we
shall be able to bring something back to Norway in return
for the trust, the sympathy, and the money which she has
expended on us. But let us not on this account forget our
predecessors; let us admire them for the way in which
they struggled and endured; let us remember that it is
only through their labors and achievements that the way
has been prepared for the present voyage. It is owing
to their collective experience that man has now got so
far as to be able to cope to some extent with what has
hitherto been his most dangerous and obstinate enemy in
the Arctic regions — viz., the drift-ice — and to do so by the
very simple expedient of going with it and not against it,
and allowing one's self to be hemmed in by it, not invol-
untarily, but intentionally, and preparing for it beforehand.
On board this vessel we try to cull the fruits of all our
predecessors' experiences. It has taken years to collect
them ; but I felt that with these I should be enabled
to face any vicissitude of fate in unknown waters. I
think we have been fortunate. I think we are all of
the opinion that there is no imaginable difficulty or ob-
stacle before us that we ought not to be able to overcome
with the means and resources we possess on board, and
be thus enabled to return at last to Norway safe and
sound, with a rich harvest. Therefore let us drink a
bumper to the FramP
" Next there followed some musical items and a per-
WE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 27
formance by Lars, the smith, who danced di pas seul, to the
great amusement of the company. Lars assured us that
if he ever reached home again and were present at a
gathering similar to those held atChristiania and Bergen on
our departure, his legs should be taxed to their uttermost.
This was followed by a toast to those at home who were
waiting for us year after year, not knowing where to picture
us in thought, who were vainly yearning for tidings of us,
but whose faith in us and our voyage was still firm —
to those who consented to our departure, and who may
well be said to have made the greatest sacrifice.
" The festivity continued with music and merriment
throughout the evening, and our good humor was certain-
ly not spoiled when our excellent doctor came forward
with cigars — a commodity which is getting highly valued
up here, as, unfortunately it is becoming very scarce. The
only cloud in our existence is that Sverdrup has not yet
quite recovered from his catarrh. He must keep strict
diet, and this does not at all suit him, poor fellow! He
is only allowed wheaten bread, milk, raw bears flesh, and
oatmeal porridge ; whereas if he had his own way he
would eat everything, including cake, preserves, and
fruit. But he has returned to duty now, and has already
been out for a turn on the ice.
" It was late at night when I retired to my cabin, but
I was not yet in a fit mood to go to sleep. I felt I must
go out and saunter in the wonderful moonlight. Around
the moon there was, as usual, a large ring, and above it
28 FARTHEST NORTH
there was an arc, which just touched it at the upper edge,
byt the two ends of which curved downward instead of
upward. It looked as if it were part of a circle whose
centre was situated far below the moon. At the lower
edge of the ring there was a large mock moon, or, rath-
er, a large luminous patch, which was most pronounced
at the upper part, where it touched the ring, and had a
yellow upper edge, from which it spread downward in
the form of a triangle. It looked as if it might be an arc
of a circle on the lower side of, and in contact with, the
ring. Right across the moon there were drifting several
luminous cirrhus streaks. The whole produced a fan-
tastic effect.
"Saturday, December 2 2d. The same southeasterly
wind has turned into a regular storm, howling and rat-
tling cheerily through the rigging, and we are doubtless
drifting northward at a good rate. If I go outside the
tent on deck, the wind whistles round my ears, and the
snow beats into my face, and I am soon covered with it.
From the snow-hut observatory, or even at a lesser dis-
tance, the Fram is invisible, and it is almost impossible
to keep one's eyes open, owing to the blinding snow. I
wonder whether we have not passed 83°? But I am
afraid this joy will not be a lasting one ; the barometer
has fallen alarmingly, and the wind has generally been
up to 13 or 14 metres (44 or 50 feet) per second. About
half-past twelve last night the vessel suddenly received a
strong pressure, rattling everything on board. I could
WE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 29
feel the vibration under me for a long time afterwards
while lying in my berth. Finally, I could hear the roar-
ing and grating caused by the ice-pressure. I told the
watch to listen carefully, and ascertain where the press-
ure was, and to notice whether the floe on which we
were lying was likely to crack, and whether any part of
our equipment was in danger. He thought he could
hear the noise of ice-pressure both forward and aft, but
it was not easy to distinguish it from the roar of the
tempest in the rigging. To-day about 12.30 p.m. the
Fram received another violent shock, even stronger than
that we had experienced during the night. There was
another shake a little later; I suppose there has been
a pressure aft, but could hear nothing for the storm.
It is odd about this pressure: one would think that the
wind was the primary cause; but it recurs pretty regu-
larly, notwithstanding the fact that the spring - tide has
not yet set in ; indeed, when it commenced a few days
ago it was almost a neap-tide. In addition to the press-
ure of yesterday and last night, we had pressure on
Thursday morning at half -past nine and again at half-
past eleven. It was so strong that Peter, who was at
the sounding-hole, jumped up repeatedly, thinking that
the ice would burst underneath him. It is very singular,
we have been quiet for so long now that we feel almost
nervous when the Fram receives those shocks; every-
thing seems to tremble as if in a violent earthquake.
"Sunday, December 23d. Wind still unchanged, and
30 FARTHEST NORTH
blowing equally fresh, up to 13 or 14 metres (44 or 47
feet). The snow is drifting and sweeping so that noth-
ing can be distinguished ; the darkness is intense. Abaft
on the deck there are deep mounds of snow lying round
the wheel and the rails, so that when we go up on deck
we get a genuine sample of an Arctic winter. The
outlook is enough to make you shudder, and feel grate-
ful that instead of having to turn out in such weather,
you may dive back again into the tent, and down the
companion way into your warm bunk; but soon, no doubt,
Johansen and I will have to face it out, day and night,
even in such weather as this, whether we like it or
not. This morning Pettersen, who has had charge of
the dogs this week, came down to the saloon and asked
whether some one would come out with him on the ice
with a rifle, as he was sure there was a bear. Peter and
I went, but we could not find anything. The dogs left
off barking when we arrived on the scene, and com-
menced to play with each other. But Pettersen was right
in saying that it was 'horrid weather,' it was almost enough
to take away one's breath to face the wind, and the drift-
ing snow forced its way into the mouth and nostrils. The
vessel could not be distinguished beyond a few paces, so
that it was not advisable to go any distance away from her,
and it was very difficult to walk ; for, what with snow-drifts
and ice-mounds, at one moment you stumbled against
the frozen edge of a snow-drift, at another you tumbled
into a hole. It was pitch-dark all round. The ba-
WE PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 3 1
rometer had been falling steadily and rapidly, but at
last it has commenced to rise slightly. It now registers
about 726 mm. (28.6 inches). The thermometer, as usual,
is describing the inverse curve. In the afternoon it rose
steadily until it registered —21.3° C. Now it appears to
be falling again a little, but the wind still keeps exactly
in the same quarter. It has surely shifted us by now a
good way to the north, well beyond the 83d degree. It
is quite pleasant to hear the wind whistling and rattling
in the rigging overhead. Alas! we know that all terres-
trial bliss is short-lived.
"About midnight the mate, who has the watch, comes
down and reports that the ice has cracked just beyond the
thermometer house, between it and the sounding -hole.
This is the same crack that we had in the summer,
and it has now burst open again, and probably the
whole floe in which we are lying is split from the lane
ahead to the lane astern of us. The thermograph
and other instruments are being brought on board, so
that we may run no risk of losing them in the event
of pressure of ice. But otherwise there is scarcely
anything that could be endangered. The sounding ap-
paratus is at some distance from the open channel, on
the other side. The only thing left there is the shears
with the iron block standing over the hole.
"Thursday, December 27th. Christmas has come
round again, and we are still so far from home. How
dismal it all is ! Nevertheless, I am not melancholy. I
32 FARTHEST NORTH
might rather say I am glad ; I feel as if awaiting some-
thing great which lies hidden in the future ; after long
hours of uncertainty I can now discern the end of
this dark night; I have ho doubt all will turn out suc-
cessfully, that the voyage is not in vain and the time
not wasted, and that our hopes will be realized. An
explorer's lot is, perhaps, hard and his life full of dis-
appointments, as they all say ; but it is also full of beau-
tiful moments — moments when he beholds the triumphs
of human faith and human will, when he catches sight
of the haven of success and peace.
" I am in a singular frame of mind just now, in a
state of sheer unrest. I have not felt inclined for writing
during the last few days; thoughts come and go, and
carry me irresistibly ahead. I can scarcely make myself
out, but who can fathom the depths of the human mind.
The brain is a puzzling piece of mechanism : * We are
such stuff as dreams are made of.' Is it so.*^ I almost
believe it — a microcosm of eternity's infinite ' stuff that
dreams are made of.'
" This is the second Christmas spent far away in the
solitude of night, in the realm of death, farther north
and deeper into the midst of it than any one has been
before. There is something strange in the feeling; and
then this, too, is our last Christmas on board the Fram.
It makes one almost sad to think of it. The vessel is
like a second home, and has become dear to us. Per-
haps our comrades may spend another Christmas here.
PV£ PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 33
possibly several, without us who will go forth from
them into the midst of the solitude. This Christmas
passed off quietly and pleasantly, and every one seems
to be well content. By no means the least circumstance
that added to our enjoyment was that the wind brought
us the 83d degree as a Christmas-box. Our luck was,
this time, more lasting than I had anticipated ; the wind
continued fresh on Monday and Tuesday, but little by
little it lulled down and veered round to the north and
northeast. Yesterday and to-day it has been in the
northwest. Well, we must put up with it; one cannot
help having a little contrary wind at times, and probably
it will not last long.
" Christmas-eve was, of course, celebrated with great
feasting. The table presented a truly imposing array of
Christmas confectionery : * Poor man s ' pastry, * Stag-
horn ' pastry, honey-cakes, macaroons, ' Sister ' cake, and
what not, besides sweets and the like; many may have
fared worse. Moreover, Blessing and I had worked
during the day in the sweat of our brow and produced a
* Polar Champagne 83d Degree,' which made a sensation,
and which we two, at least, believed we had every reason
to be proud of, being a product derived from the noble
grape of the polar regions — viz., the cloudberry {multer).
The others seemed to enjoy it too, and, of course, many
toasts were drunk in this noble beverage. Quantities of
illustrated books were then brought forth ; there was
music, and stories, and songs, and general merriment.
11.-3
34 FARTHEST NORTH
" On Christmas - day, of course, we had a special
dinner. After dinner coffee and cura9oa made here on
board, and Nordahl then came forward with Russian
cigarettes. At night a bowl of cloudberry punch was
served out, which did not seem by any means unwelcome.
Mogstad played the violin, and Pettersen was electrified
thereby to such a degree that he sang and danced to us.
He really exhibits considerable talent as a comedian,
and has a decided bent towards the ballet. It is aston-
ishing what versatility he displays : engineer, blacksmith,
tinsmith, cook, master of ceremonies, comedian, dancer,
and, last of all, he has come out in the capacity of a
first-class barber and hair-dresser. There was a grand
'bair at night; Mogstad had to play till the perspira-
tion poured from him; Hansen and I had to figure as
ladies. Pettersen was indefatigable. He faithfully and
solemnly vowed that if he has a pair of boots to his feet
when he gets home he will dance as long as the soles
hold together.
" Day after day, as we progressed with a rattling
wind, first from S.E. and later on E.S.E. and E., we
felt more anxious to know how far we had got; but
there had always been a snow-storm or a cloudy sky,
so that we could not make any observations. We were
all confident that we must have got a long way up
north, but how far beyond the 83d degree no one could
tell. Suddenly Hansen was called on deck this after-
noon by the news that the stars were visible overhead.
IV£ PREPARE FOR THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 37
All were on the tiptoe of expectation. But when he
came down he had only observed one star, which, how-
ever, was so near the meridian that he could calculate
that, at any rate, we were north of 83° 2d north
latitude, and this communication was received with
shouts of joy. If we were not yet in the most northerly
latitude ever reached by man, we were, at all events,
not far from it. This was more than we had expected,
and we were in high spirits. Yesterday, being 'the
Second Christmas-day,' of course, both on this account
and because it was Juells birthday, we had a special
dinner, with oxtail soup, pork cutlets, red whortle-
berry preserve, cauliflowers, fricandeau, potatoes, pre-
served currants, also pastry, and a wonderful iced-
almond cake with the words ' Glaedelig Jul' (A Merry
Christmas) on it, from Hansen, baker, Christiania, and
then malt extract. We cannot complain that we are
faring badly here. About 4 o'clock this morning the
vessel received a violent shock which made everything
tremble, but no noise of ice-packing was to be heard.
At about half-past five I heard at intervals the crack-
ling and crunching of the pack-ice which was surging in
the lane ahead. At night similar noises were also heard ;
otherwise the ice was quiet, and the crack on the port-
side has closed up tight again.
" Friday, December 28th. I went out in the morning
to have a look at the crack on the port side which has
now widened out so as to form an open lane. Of
38 FARTHEST NORTH
course, all the dogs followed me, and I had not got far
when I saw a dark form disappear. This was * Pan,' who
rolled down the high steep edge of the ice and fell into
the water. In vain he struggled to get out again ; all
around him there was nothing but snow slush, which
afforded no foothold. I could scarcely hear a sound of
him, only just a faint whining noise now and then. I
leaned down over the edge in order to get near him, but it
was too high, and I very nearly went after him head-first;
all that I could get hold of was loose fragments of ice
and lumps of snow. I called for a seal-hook, but before
it was brought to me * Pan ' had scrambled out himself,
and was leaping to and fro on the floe with all his might
to keep himself warm, followed by the other dogs, who
loudly barked and gambolled about with him, as though
they wished to demonstrate their joy at his rescue. When
he fell in they all rushed forward, looking at me and
whining; they evidently felt sorry for him and wished
me to help him. They said nothing, but just ran up
and down along the edge until he got out. At another
moment, perhaps, they may all unite in tearing him to
pieces ; such is canine and human nature. ' Pan ' was
allowed to dry himself in the saloon all the after-
noon.
"A little before half -past nine to-night the vessel
received a tremendous shock. I went out, but no noise
of ice -packing could be heard. However, the wind
howled so in the rigging that it was not easy to dis-
WE PREPARE FOP THE SLEDGE EXPEDITION 39
tinguish any other sound. At half- past ten another
shock followed; later on, from time to time, vibrations
were felt in the vessel, and towards half-past eleven the
shocks became stronger. It was clear that the ice was
packing at some place or other about us, and I was just
on the point of going out when Mogstad came to
announce that there was a very ugly pressure - ridge
ahead. We went out with lanterns. Fifty -six paces
from the bow there extended a perpendicular ridge
stretching along the course of the lane, and there was
a terrible pressure going on at the moment. It roared
and crunched and crackled all along; then it abated a
little and recurred at intervals, as though in a regular
rhythm ; finally it passed over into a continuous roar.
It seemed to be mostly newly frozen ice from the chan-
nels which had formed this ridge; but there were also
some ponderous blocks of ice to be seen among it. It
pressed slowly but surely forward towards the vessel ; the
ice had given way before it to a considerable distance
and was still being borne down little by little. The floe
around us has cracked, so that the block of ice in which
the vessel is embedded is smaller than it was. I should
not like to have that pressure-ridge come in right under
the nose of the Fram, as it might soon do some damage.
Although there is hardly any prospect of its getting so
far, nevertheless I have given orders to the watch to
keep a sharp lookout; and if it comes very near, or if
the ice should crack under us, he is to call me. Prob-
40 FARTHEST NORTH
ably the pressure will soon abate, as it has now kept up
for several hours. At this moment (1245 a.m.) there have
just been some violent shocks, and above the howling of
the wind in the rigging I can hear the roar of the ice-
pressure as I lie in my berth."
CHAPTER II
THE NEW YEAR, 1 895
"Wednesday, January 2, 1895. Never before have I
had such strange feelings at the commencement of the
new year. It cannot fail to bring some momentous
events, and will possibly become one of the most remark-
able years in my life, whether it leads me to success or to
destruction. Years come and go unnoticed in this world
of ice, and we have no more knowledge here of what
these years have brought to humanity than we know of
what the future ones have in store. In this silent nature
no events ever happen; all is shrouded in darkness; there
is nothing in view save the twinkling stars, immeasurably
far away in the freezing night, and the flickering sheen
of the aurora borealis. I can just discern close by the
vague outline of the Fram, dimly standing out in the
desolate gloom, with her rigging showing dark against
the host of stars. Like an infinitesimal speck, the vessel
seems lost amidst the boundless expanse of this realm
of death. Nevertheless, under her deck there is a snug
and cherished home for thirteen men undaunted by the
majesty of this realm. In there, life is freely pulsating.
42 FARTHEST NORTH
while far away outside in the night there is nothing save
death and silence, only broken now and then, at long
intervals, by the violent pressure of the ice as it surges
along in gigantic masses. It sounds most ominous in
the great stillness, and one cannot help an uncanny
feeling as if supernatural powers were at hand, the
Jotuns and Rimturser (frost-giants) of the Arctic regions,
with whom we may have to engage in deadly combat at
any moment ; but we are not afraid of them.
" I often think of Shakespeare's Viola, who sat * like
Patience on a monument.' Could we not pass as repre-
sentatives of this marble Patience, imprisoned 'here on
the ice while the years roll by, awaiting our time } I
should like to design such a monument. It should be a
lonely man in shaggy wolfskin clothing, all covered with
hoar-frost, sitting on a mound of ice, and gazing out into
the darkness across these boundless, ponderous masses of
ice, awaiting the return of daylight and spring.
" The ice-pressure was not noticeable after i o'clock
on Friday night until it suddenly recommenced last
night. First I heard a rumbling outside, and some
snow fell down from the rigging upon the tent roof as I
sat reading; I thought it sounded like packing in the
ice, and just then the Fram received a violent shock,
such as she had not received since last winter. I was
rocked backward and forward on the chest on which I
was sitting. Finding that the trembling and rumbling
continued, I went out There was a loud roar of ice-
THE NEW YEAR, 1893 43
packing to the west and northwest, which continued uni-
formly for a couple of hours or so. Is this the New-
year's greeting from the ice ?
"We spent New- years-eve cozily, with a cloudberry
punch-bowl, pipes, and cigarettes. Needless to say, there
was an abundance of cakes and the like, and we spoke
of the old and the new year and days to come. Some
selections were played on the organ and violin. Thus
midnight arrived. Blessing produced from his apparent-
ly inexhaustible store a bottle of genuine ' linje akkevit '
(line eau-de-vie), and in this Norwegian liquor we drank
the old year out and the new year in. Of course
there was many a thought that would obtrude itself at
the change of the year, being the second which we had
seen on board the Fram, and also, in all probability,
the last that we should all spend together. Naturally
enough, one thanked ones comrades, individually and
collectively, for all kindness and good-fellowship. Hard-
ly one of us had thought, perhaps, that the time would
pass so well up here. Sverdrup expressed the wish that
the journey which Johansen and I were about to make
in the coming year might be fortunate and bring success
in all respects. And then we drank to the health and
well-being in the coming year of those who were to re-
main behind on board the Fram, It so happened that
just now at the turn of the year we stood on the verge
of an entirely new world. The wind which whistled up
in the rigging overhead was not only wafting us on to
44 FARTHEST NORTH
unknown regions, but also up into higher latitudes than
any human foot had ever trod. We felt that this year,
which was just commencing, would bring the culminat-
ing-point of the expedition, when it would bear its rich-
est fruits. Would that this year might prove a good
year for those on board the Fram ; that the Fram might
go ahead, fulfilling her task as she has hitherto done;
and in that case none of us could doubt that those on
board would also prove equal to the task intrusted to
them.
" New-year's-day was ushered in with the same wind,
the same stars, and the same darkness as before. Even at
noon one cannot see the slightest glimmer of twilight
in the south. Yesterday I thought I could trace some-
thing of the kind ; it extended like a faint gleam of light
over the sky, but it was yellowish - white, and stretched
too high up ; hence I am rather inclined to think that it
was an aurora borealis. Again to-day the sky looks light-
er near the edge, but this can scarcely be anything ex-
cept the gleam of the aurora borealis, which extends all
round the sky, a little above the fog-banks on the horizon,
and which is strongest at the edge. Exactly similar lights
may be observed at other times in other parts of the ho-
rizon. The air was particularly clear yesterday, but the
horizon is always somewhat foggy or hazy. During the
night we had an uncommonly strong aurora borealis ;
wav)' streamers were darting in rapid twists over the
southern sky, their rays reaching to the zenith, and be-
THE NEW YEAR, i8gs 45
yond it there was to be seen for a time a band in the
form of a gorgeous corona, casting a reflection like
moonshine across the ice. The sky had lit up its torch
in honor of the new year — a fairy dance of darting
streamers in the depth of night. I cannot help often
thinking that this contrast might be taken as typical
of the Northman's character and destiny. In the midst
of this gloomy, silent nature, with all its numbing cold,
we have all these shooting, glittering, quivering rays
of light. Do they not typify our impetuous 'spring-
dances,' our wild mountain melodies, the auroral gleams
in our souls, the rushing, surging, spiritual forces behind
the mantle of ice ? There is a dawning life in the slum-
bering night, if it could only reach beyond the icy desert,
out over the world.
"Thus 1895 comes in:
" ' Turn, Fortune, turn thy wheel and lower the proud ;
Turn thy wild wheel thro' sunshine, storm, and cloud ;
Thy wheel and thee we neither love nor hate.
" ' Smile and we smile, the lords of many lands ;
Frown and we frown, the lords of our own hands;
For man is man and master of his fate.'
" Thursday, January 3d. A day of unrest, a changeful
life, notwithstanding all its monotony. But yesterday we
were full of plans for the future, and to-day how easily
might we have been left on the ice without a roof over
our heads! At half -past four in the morning a fresh
rush of ice set in in the lane aft, and at five it commenced
46 FARTHEST NORTH
in the lane on our port side. About 8 o'clock I awoke,
and heard the crunching and crackling of the ice, as if
ice-pressure were setting in. A slight trembling was felt
throughout the Fram, and I heard the roar outside.
When I came out I was not a little surprised to find a
large pressure - ridge all along the channel on the port
side scarcely thirty paces from the Fram; the cracks on
this side extended to quite eighteen paces from us. All
loose articles that were lying on the ice on this side
were stowed away on board; the boards and planks
which, during the summer, had supported the meteor-
ological hut and the screen for the same were chopped
up, as we could not afford to lose any materials; but
the line, which had been left out in the sounding-
hole with the bag-net attached to it, was caught iii the
pressure. Just after I had come on board again short-
ly before noon the ice suddenly began to press on
again. I went out to have a look ; it was again in the
lane on the port side ; there was a strong pressure, and
the ridge was gradually approaching. A little later on
Sverdrup went up on deck, but soon after came below
and told us that the ridge was quickly bearing down on
us, and a few hands were required to come up and help to
load the sledge with the sounding apparatus, and bring it
round to the starboard side of the Fram, as the ice had
cracked close by it. The ridge began to come alarmingly
near, and, should it be upon us before the Fram had
broken loose from the ice, matters might become very
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 47
unpleasant The vessel had now a greater list to the
port side th^n ever.
" During the afternoon various preparations were made
to leave the ship if the worst should happen. All the
sledges were placed ready on deck, and the kayaks
were also made clear; 25 cases of dog-biscuits were
deposited on the ice on the starboard side, and 19 cases
of bread were brought up and placed forward ; also 4
drums, holding altogether 22 gallons of petroleum, were
put on deck. Ten smaller-sized tins had previously been
filled with 100 litres of snowflake oil, and various vessels
containing gasoline were also standing on deck. As we
were sitting at supper we again heard the same crunching
and crackling noise in the ice as usual, coming nearer
and nearer, and finally we heard a crash proceeding from
right underneath where we sat. I rushed up. There
was a pressure of ice in the lane a little way off, almost
on our starboard beam. I went down again, and con-
tinued my meal. Peter, who had gone out on the ice,
soon after came down and said, laughing as usual, that
it was no wonder we heard some crackling, for the ice
had cracked not a sledge - length away from the dog-
biscuit cases, and the crack was extending abaft of the
Fram. I went out, and found the crack was a very con-
siderable one. The dog-biscuit cases were now shifted
a little more forward for greater safety. We also found
several minor cracks in the ice around the vessel. I then
went down and had a pipe and a pleasant chat with Sver-
48 FARTHEST NORTH
drup in his cabin. After we had been sitting a good
while the ice again began to crack and jam. I did not
think that the noise was greater than usual; neverthe-
less, I asked those in the saloon, who sat playing halma,
whether there was any one on deck ; if not, would one of
them be kind enough to go and see where the ice was
packing. I heard hurried steps above; Nordahl came
down and reported that it was on the port side, and that
it would be best for us to be on deck. Peter and I jumped
up and several followed. As I went down the ladder
Peter called out to me from above : * We must get the
dogs out ; see, there is water on the ice !' It was high
time that we came ; the water was rushing in and already
stood high in the kennel. Peter waded into the water up
to his knees and pushed the door open. Most of the dogs
rushed out and jumped about, splashing in the water; but
some, being frightened, had crept back into the innermost
corner and had to be dragged out, although they stood in
water reaching high up their legs. Poor brutes, it must
have been miserable enough, in all conscience, to be shut
up in such a place while the water was steadily rising
about them, yet they are not more noisy than usual.
" The dogs having been put in safety, I walked round
the Fram to see what else had happened. The ice had
cracked along her to the fore, near the starboard bow ;
from this crack the water had poured aft along the port
side, which was weighed down by the weight of the ridge
steadily pressing on towards us. The crack has just
5 :
1 z
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 5 1
passed under the middle of the portable forge, which was
thus endangered, and it was therefore put on a sledge and
removed to the great hummock on the starboard quarter.
The pemmican — altogether 11 cases — the cases of dog-
biscuits, and 19 cases of bread were conveyed to the
same place. Thus we have now a complete depot lying
over there, and, I trust, in entire safety, the ice being so
thick that it is not likely to give way. This has brought
life into the lads ; they have all turned out. We took out
4 more tin cans of petroleum to the hummock, then pro-
ceeded to bring up from the hold and place on deck
ready for removal 2 1 cases of bread, and a supply of pem-
mican, chocolate, butter, * vril-food,* soup, etc., calculated
to last us 200 days. Also tents, cooking apparatus, and
the like, were got ready, so that now all is clear up there,
and we may sleep securely ; but it was past midnight be-
fore we had done. I still trust that it is all a false alarm,
and that we shall have no occasion for these supplies
now, at any rate; nevertheless, it is our duty to keep
everything ready in case the unthinkable should happen.
Moreover, the watch has been enjoined to mind the dogs
on the ice and to keep a sharp lookout in case the ice
should crack underneath our cases or the ice-pressure
should recommence ; if anything should happen we are
to be called out at once, too early rather than too late.
While I sit here and write I hear the crunching and
crackling beginning again outside, so that there must still
be a steady pressure on the ice. All are in the best
52 FARTHEST NORTH
spirits; it almost appears as if they looked upon this as
a pleasant break in the monotony of our existence. Well,
it is half-past one, I had better turn into my bunk ; I am
tired, and goodness knows how soon I may be called up.
" Friday, January 4th. The ice kept quiet during the
night, but all day, with some intervals, it has been crack-
ling and settling, and this evening there have been sev-
eral fits of pressure from 9 o'clock onward. For a time
it came on, sometimes rather lightly, at regular inter-
vals; sometimes with a rush and a regular roar; then
it subsided somewhat, and then it roared anew. Mean-
while the pressure-ridge towers higher and higher and
bears right down upon us slowly, while the pressure
comes on at intervals only, and more quickly when the
onset continues for a time. One can actually see it
creeping nearer and nearer; and now, at i o'clock at
night, it is not many feet — scarcely five — away from the
edge of the snow-drift on the port side near the gang-
way, and thence to the vessel is scarcely more than ten
feet, so that it will not be long now before it is upon
us. Meanwhile the ice continues to split, and the solid
mass in which we are embedded grows less and less,
both to port and starboard. Several fissures extend
right up to the Fram. As the ice sinks down under
the weight of the ridge on the port side and the Fram
lists more that way, more water rushes up over the new
ice which has frozen on the water that rose yesterday.
This is like dying by inches. Slowly but surely the
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 53
baleful ridge advances, and it looks as if it meant going
right over the rail; but if the Fram will only oblige
by getting free of the ice she will, I feel confident, ex-
tricate herself yet, even though matters look rather awk-
ward at present. We shall probably have a hard time
of it, however, before she can break loose if she does
not do so at once. I have been out and had a look at
the ridge, and seen how surely it is advancing! I have
looked at the fissures in the ice and noted how they are
forming and expanding round the vessel ; I have listened
to the ice crackling and crunching underfoot, and I do
not feel much disposed to turn into my berth before I
see the Fram quite released. As I sit here now I hear
the ice making a fresh assault, and roaring and packing
outside, and I can tell that the ridge is coming nearer.
This is an ice-pressure with a vengeance, and it seems
as if it would never cease. I do not think there is any-
thing more that we can do now. All is in readiness for
leaving the vessel, if need be. To-day the clothing, etc.,
was taken out and placed ready for removal in separate
bags for each man.
" It is very strange ; there is certainly a possibility that
all our plans may be crossed by unforeseen events, al-
though it is not very probable that this will happen. As
yet I feel no anxiety in that direction, only I should like
to know whether we are really to take everything on to
the ice or not. However, it is past i o'clock, and I think
the most sensible thing to do would be to turn in and
54 FARTHEST NORTH
sleep. The watch has orders to call me when the hum-
mock reaches the Fram. It is lucky it is moonlight
now, so that we are able to see something of all this
abomination.
" The day before yesterday we saw the moon for the
first time just above the horizon. Yesterday it was shin-
ing a little, and now we have it both day and night. A
most favorable state of things. But it is nearly 2 o'clock,
and I must go to sleep now. The pressure of the ice, I
can hear, is stronger again.
"Saturday, January 5th. To-night everybody sleeps
fully dressed, and with the most indispensable necessaries
either by his side or secured to his body, ready to jump
on the ice at the first warning. All other requisites, such
as provisions, clothing, sleeping-bags, etc., etc., have been
brought out on the ice. We have been at work at this
all day, and have got everything into perfect order, and
are now quite ready to leave if necessary, which, how-
ever, I do not believe will be the case, though the ice-
pressure has been as bad as it could be.
" I slept soundly, woke up only once, and listened to
the crunching and jamming and grinding till I fell asleep
again. I was called at 5.30 in the morning by Sverdrup,
who told me that the hummock had now reached the
Fram, and was bearing down on us violently, reaching
as high as the rail. I was not left in doubt very long, as
hardly had I opened my eyes when I heard a thunder-
ing and crashing outside in the ice, as if doomsday had
f
.V
.■■■' ■•
':■■ ■>*:
;. ^
I.
>. T>
•*-*■
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 55
come. I jumped up. There was nothing left for it but
to call all hands, to put all the remaining provisions on
the ice, and then put all our furs and other equipment
on deck, so that they could be thrown overboard at a
moments notice if necessary. Thus the day passed,
but the ice kept quiet. Last of all, the petroleum launch,
which was hanging in the davits on the port side, was
lowered, and was dragged towards the great hummock.
At about 8 o'clock in the evening, when we thought
the ice-pressure had subsided, it started thundering and
crashing again worse than ever. I hurried up. Masses
of snow and ice rushed on us, high above the rail amid-
ships and over the tent. Peter, who also came up, seized
a spade and rushed forward outside the awning as far
as the forepart of the half-deck, and stood in the midst
of the ice, digging away, and I followed to see how
matters stood. I saw more than I cared to see ; it was
hopeless to fight that enemy with a spade. I called
out to Peter to come back, and said, * We had better see
to getting everything out on to the ice.' Hardly had I
spoken, when it pressed on again with renewed strength,
and thundered and crashed, and, as Peter said, and
laughed till he shook again, ' nearly sent both me and
the spade to the deuce.' I rushed back to the main-
deck; on the way I met Mogstad, who hurried up,
spade in hand, and sent him back. Running forward
under the tent towards the ladder, I saw that the tent-
roof was bent down under the weight of the masses of
56
FARTHEST NORTH
ice, which were rushing over it and crashing in over the
rail and bulwarks to such an extent that I expected
every moment to see the ice force its way through and
block up the passage. When I got below, I called all
ALL HANDS ON DECK !"
hands on deck; but told them when going up not to
go out through the door on the port side, but through
the chart-room and out on the starboard side. In the
first place, all the bags were to be brought up from the
saloon, and then we were to take those lying on deck.
I was afraid that if the door on the port side was not
kept closed the ice might, if it suddenly burst through
the bulwarks and tent, rush over the deck and in
through the door, fill the passage and rush down the
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 57
ladder, and thus imprison us like mice in a trap. True,
the passage up from the engine-room had been cleared
for this emergency, but this was a very narrow hole to
get through with heavy bags, and no one could tell how
long this hole would keep open when the ice once
attacked us in earnest. I ran up again to set free
the dogs, which were shut up in * Castle -garden ' — an
enclosure on the deck along the port bulwark. They
whined and howled most dolefully under the tent as
the snow masses threatened at any moment to crush
it and bury them alive. I cut away the fastening with
a knife, pulled the door open, and out rushed most of
them by the starboard gangway at full speed.*
Meantime the hands started bringing up the bags.
It was quite unnecessary to ask them to hurry up — the
ice did that, thundering against the ship's sides in a way
that seemed irresistible. It was a fearful hurly-burly
in the darkness; for, to cap all, the mate had, in the
hurry, let the lanterns go out. I had to go down again
to get something on my feet; my Finland shoes were
hanging up to dry in the galley. When I got there the
ice was at its worst, and the half-deck beams were creak-
ing overhead, so that I really thought they were all com-
ing down.
* The word svalkelem, which has throughout been translated ** gang-
way," means rather a sort of port-hole. As the svalkelem, however, was
the means of exit from and entrance to the ship, "gangway" seemed the
most convenient expression for it.
58 FARTHEST NORTH
" The saloon and the berths were soon cleared of bags,
and the deck as well, and we started taking them along
the ice. The ice roared and crashed against the ship's
side, so that we could hardly hear ourselves speak ; but
all went quickly and well, and before long everything was
in safety.
" While we were dragging the bags along, the press-
ure and jamming of the ice had at last stopped, and
all was quiet again as before.
" But what a sight ! The Frames port side was quite
buried under the snow; all that could be seen was the
top of the tent projecting. Had the petroleum launch
been hanging in the davits, as it was a few hours pre-
viously, it would hardly have escaped destruction. The
davits were quite buried in ice and snow. It is curi-
ous that both fire and water have been powerless against
that boat; and it has now come out unscathed from the
ice, and lies there bottom upward on the floe. She has
had a stormy existence and continual mishaps ; I wonder
what is next in store for her }
" It was, I must admit, a most exciting scene when it
was at its worst, and we thought it was imperative to get
the bags up from the saloon with all possible speed.
Sverdrup now tells me that he was just about to have
a bath, and was as naked as when he was born, when he
heard me call all hands on deck. As this had not hap-
pened before, he understood there was something seri-
ous the matter, and he jumped into his clothes anyhow.
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 59
Amundsen, apparently, also realized that something was
amiss. He says he was the first who came up with
his bag. He had not understood, or had forgotten, in
the confusion, the order about going out through the
starboard door; he groped his way out on the port side
and fell in the dark over the edge of the half -deck.
' Well, that did not matter,' he said ; * he was quite used
to that kind of thing;' but having pulled himself togeth-
er after the fall, and as he was lying there on his back,
he dared not move, for it seemed to him as if tent and
all were coming down on him, and it thundered and
crashed against the gunwale and the hull as if the last
hour had come. It finally dawned on him why he
ought to have gone out on the starboard and not on the
port side.
" All that could possibly be thought to be of any use
was taken out. The mate was seen dragging along a
big bag of clothes with a heavy bundle of cups fastened
outside it. Later he was stalking about with all sorts
of things, such as mittens, knives, cups, etc., fastened to
his clothes and dangling about him, so that the rattling
noise could be heard afar off. He is himself to the last.
" In the evening the men all started eating their stock
of cakes, sweetmeats, and such -like, smoked tobacco,
and enjoyed themselves in the most animated fashion.
They evidently thought it was uncertain when they
should next have such a time on board the Fram, and
therefore they thought it was best to avail themselves
6o FARTHEST NORTH
of the opportunity. We are now living in marching
order on an empty ship.
" By way of precaution we have now burst open again
the passage on the starboard side which was used as a
library and had therefore been closed, and all doors
are now kept always open, so that we can be sure of
getting out, even if anything should give way. We do
not want the ice-pressure to close the doors against us
by jamming the doorposts together. But she certainly is
a strong ship. It is a mighty ridge that we have in our
port side, and the masses of ice are tremendous. The
ship is listing more than ever, nearly 7° ; but since the
last pressure she has righted herself a little again, so
that she must surely have broken away from the ice
and begun to rise, and all danger is doubtless over. So,
after all, it has been a case of * Much ado about nothing.'
"Sunday, January 6th. A quiet day; no jamming
since last night. Most of the fellows slept well on into
the morning. This afternoon all have been very busy
digging the Fram out of the ice again, and we have now
got the rail clear right aft to the half-deck ; but a tre-
mendous mass had fallen over the tent. It was above
the second ratline in the fore-shrouds, and fully six feet
over the rail. It is a marvel that the tent stood it;
but it was a very good thing that it did do so, for other-
wise it is hard to say what might have become of many
of the dogs. This afternoon Hansen took a meridian
observation, which gave 83° 34' north latitude. Hurrah !
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 61
We are getting on well northward — thirteen minutes
since Monday — and the most northern latitude is now
reached. It goes without saying that the occasion was
duly celebrated with a bowl of punch, preserved fruits,
cakes, and the doctor's cigars.
" Last night we were running with the bags for our
lives; to-night we are drinking punch and feasting: such
are, indeed, the vicissitudes of fate. All this roaring and
crashing for the last few days has been, perhaps, a can-
nonade to celebrate our reaching such a high latitude. If
that be so, it must be admitted that the ice has done full
honor to the occasion. Well, never mind, let it crash on
so long as we only get northward. The Fram will, no
doubt, stand it now; she has lifted fully one foot for-
ward and fully six inches aft, and she has slipped a
little astern. Moreover, we cannot find so much as a
single stanchion in the bulwarks that has started, yet
to-night every man will sleep fully prepared to make for
the ice.
** Monday, January 7th. There was a little jamming
of the ice occasionally during the day, but only of slight
duration, then all was quiet again. Evidently the ice
has not yet settled, and we have perhaps more to expect
from our friend to port, whom I would willingly ex-
change for a better neighbor.
" It seems, however, as if the ice-pressure had altered
its direction since the wind has changed to S.E. It is
now confined to the ridges fore and aft athwart the wind;
62 FARTHEST NORTH
while our friend to port, lying almost in the line of the
wind, has kept somewhat quieter.
" Everything has an end, as the boy said when he was
in for a birching. Perhaps the growth of this ridge has
come to an end now, perhaps not ; the one thing is just
as likely as the other.
"To-day the work of extricating the Fram is pro-
ceeding; we will at all events get the rails clear of
the ice. It presents a most imposing sight by the light
of the moon, and, however conscious of one's own
strength, one cannot help respecting an antagonist who
commands such powers, and who, in a few moments, is
capable of putting mighty machinery into action. It
is rather an awkward battering-ram to face. The
Fram is equal to it, but no other ship could have re-
sisted such an onslaught. In less than an hour this ice
will build up a wall alongside us and over us which it
might take us a month to get out of, and possibly longer
than that. There is something gigantic about it ; it is
like a struggle between dwarfs and an ogre, in which the
pygmies have to resort to cunning and trickery to get
out of the clutches of one who seldom relaxes his grip.
The Fram is the ship which the pygmies have built
with all their cunning in order to fight the ogre; and
on board this ship they work as busily as ants, while
the ogre only thinks it worth while to roll over and
twist his body about now and then, but every time he
turns over it seems as though the nutshell would be
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 63
smashed and buried, and would disappear; but the pyg-
mies have built their nutshell so cleverly that it always
keeps afloat, and wriggles itself free from the deadly
embrace. The old traditions and legends about giants,
about Thors battles in the Jotunheim, when rocks
were split and crags were hurled about, and the val-
leys were filled with falling boulders, all come back to
me when 1 look at these mighty ridges of ice wind-
ing their way far off in the moonlight ; and when I see
the men standing on the ice -heap cutting and dig-
ging to remove a fraction of it, then they seem to me
smaller than pygmies, smaller than ants; but although
each ant carries only a single fir-needle, yet in course of
time they build an ant-hill, where they can live comfort-
ably, sheltered from storm and winter.
" Had this attack on the Fram been planned by the
aid of all the wickedness in the world, it could not have
been a worse one. The floe, seven feet thick, has borne
down on us on the port side, forcing itself up on the ice,
in which we are lying, and crushing it down. Thus the
Fram was forced down with the ice, while the other floe,
packed up on the ice beneath, bore down on her, and
took her amidships while she was still frozen fast. As
far as I can judge, she could hardly have had a tighter
squeeze; it was no wonder that she groaned under it;
but she withstood it, broke loose, and eased. Who
shall say after this that a vessels shape is of little con-
sequence } Had the Fram not been designed as she was,
64 FARTHEST NORTH
we should not have been sitting here now. Not a drop of
water is to be found in her anywhere. Strangely enough,
the ice has not given us another such squeeze since then;
perhaps it was its expiring grip we felt on Saturday.
" It is hard to tell, but it was terrific enough. This
morning Sverdrup and I went for a walk on the ice,
but when we got a little way from the ship we found no
sign of any new packing; the ice was smooth and un-
broken as before. The packing has been limited to a
certain stretch from east to west, and the Fram has been
lying at the very worst point of it.
" This afternoon Hansen has worked out yesterday s
observations, the result being 83° 34.2' north latitude
and 102° 51' east longitude. We have therefore drifted
north and westward; 15 miles west, indeed, and only
13.5 north since New-year's-eve, while the wind has
been mostly from the southwest. It seems as if the ice
has taken a more decided course towards the northwest
than ever, and therefore it is not to be wondered at
that there is some pressure when the wind blows athwart
the course of the ice. However, I hardly think we need
any particular explanation of the pressure, as we have
evidently again got into a packing-centre with cracks,
lanes, and ridges, where the pressure is maintained for
some time, such as we were in during the first winter.
We have constantly met with several similar stretches
on the surrounding ice, even when it has been most
quiet.
THE NEW YEAR, 1S95 65
" This evening there was a most remarkable bright-
ness right under the moon. It was like an immense
luminous haycock, which rose from the horizon and
touched the great ring round the moon. At the upper
side of this ring there was a segment of the usual in-
verted arc of hght."
The next day, January 8th, the ice began grinding
occasionally, and while Mogstad and I stood in the hold
"A MOST REMARKABLE MOON "
working on hand sledges we heard creakings in the ship
both above and below us. This was repeated several
times ; but in the intervals it was quiet. 1 was often on
the ice listening to the grinding and watching how it
66 FARTHEST NORTH
went on, but it did not go beyond crackling and creaking
beneath our feet and in the ridge at our side. Perhaps
it is to warn us not to be too confident ! I am not so
sure that it is not necessary. It is in reality like living
on a smoking volcano. The eruption that will seal our
fate may occur at any moment. It will either force the
ship up or swallow her down. And what are the stakes ?
Either the Fram will get home and the expedition be
fully successful, or we shall lose her and have to be con-
tent with what we have done, and possibly on our way
home we may explore parts of Franz Josef Land. That
is all ; but most of us feel that it would be hard to lose
the ship, and it would be a very sad sight to see her dis-
appear.
" Some of the hands, under Sverdrup, are working,
trying to cut away the hummock ice on the port side, and
they have already made good headway. Mogstad and I
are busy getting the sledges in order, and preparing them
for use as I want them, whether we go north or south.
" Liv is two years old to-day.
" She is a big girl now. I wonder if I should be able
to recognize her } I suppose I should hardly find a single
familiar feature. They are sure to celebrate the day, and
she will get all kinds of presents. Many a thought will
be sent northward, but they know not where to look for
us ; are not aware that we are drifting here embedded in
the ice in the highest northern latitudes ever reached, in
the deepest polar night ever penetrated."
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 69
During the following days the ice became steadily
quieter. In the course of the night of the 9th of January
the ice was still slightly cracking and grinding; then it
quite subsided, and on the loth of January the report is
"ice perfectly quiet, and if it were not for the ridge on
the port side one would never have thought there had
ever been any breach in the eternal stillness, so calm and
peaceful is it." Some men went on cutting away the ice,
and little by little we could see it was getting less. Mog-
stad and I were busily engaged in the hold with the new
sledges, and during this time I also made an attempt to
photograph the Fram by moonlight from different points.
The results surpassed my expectations ; but as the top of
the pressure-ridge had now been cut away, these photos
do not give an exact impression of the pack-ice, and of
how it came hurtling down upon the Fram. We then put
in order our depot on the great hummock on the star-
board quarter, and all sleeping-bags, Lapland boots, Finn
shoes, wolfskin clothing, etc., were wrapped in the foresail
and placed to the extreme west, the provisions were col-
lected into six different heaps, and the rifles and guns
were distributed among three of the heaps and wrapped
up in boat-sails. Next, Hansen's instrument-case and my
own, together with a bucketful of rifle-cartridges, were
placed under a boat-sail. Then the forge and the smith's
tools were arranged separately, and up on the top of the
great hummock we laid a heap of sledges and snow-shoes.
All the kayaks were laid side by side bottom upward,
70 FARTHEST NORTH
the cooking apparatus and lamps, etc., being placed under
them. They were spread out in this way, so that in the
improbable event of the thick floe splitting suddenly our
loss would not be so great. We knew where to find
everything, and it might blow and drift to its heart's con-
tent without our losing anything.
On the evening of January 14th I wrote in my diary:
" Two sharp reports were heard in the ship, like shots
from a cannon, and then followed a noise as of something
splitting — presumably this must be the cracking of the
ice, on account of the frost. It appeared to me that the
list on the ship increased at that moment, but perhaps it
was only imagination."
As time passed on we all gradually got busy again
preparing for the sledge expedition. On Tuesday, January
15th, I say: "This evening the doctor gave a lesson to
Johansen and myself in bandaging and repairing broken
limbs. I lay on the table and had a plaster -of -Paris
bandage put round the calf of my leg, while all the crew
were looking on. The very sight of this operation can-
not fail to suggest unpleasant thoughts. An accident of
this nature out in the polar night, with 40° to 50° of
cold, would be anything but pleasant, to say nothing of
how easily it might mean death to both of us. But who
knows .^ We might manage somehow. However, such
things must not be allowed to happen, and, what is more,
they shall notr
As January went on we could by noon just see the
f
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 73
faint dawn of day — that day at whose sunrise we were to
start. On January i8th I say: "By 9 o'clock in the
morning I could already distinguish the first indications
of dawn, and by noon it seemed to be getting bright ;
but it seems hardly credible that in a month's time there
will be light enough to travel by, yet it must be so.
True, February is a month which all 'experienced' peo-
ple consider far too early and much too cold for trav-
elling; hardly any one would do so in the month of
March. But it cannot be helped ; we have no time to
waste in waiting for additional comfort if we are to make
any progress before the summer, when travelling will be
impossible. I am not afraid of the cold ; we can always
protect ourselves against that.
*' Meantime all preparations are proceeding, and I am
now getting everything in order connected with copying
of diaries, observation-books, photographs, etc., that we
are to take with us. Mogstad is working in the hold
making maple guard-runners to put under the sledges.
Jacobsen has commenced to put a new sledge together.
Pettersen is in the engine-room, making nails for the
sledge - fittings, which Mogstad is to put on. In the
meantime some of the others have built a large forge out
on the ice with blocks of ice and snow, and to-morrow
Sverdrup and I will heat and bend the runners in tar
and stearine at such a heat as we can produce in the
forge. We trust we shall be able to get a sufficient tem-
perature to do this important work thoroughly, in spite
74 FARTHEST NORTH
of the 40° of frost. Amundsen is now repairing the mill,
as there is something wrong with it again, the cog-wheels
being worn. He thinks he will be able to get it all right
again. Rather chilly work to be lying up there in the
wind on the top of the mill, boring in the hard steel and
cast-iron by lantern-light, and at such a temperature as
we are having now. I stood and watched the lantern-
light up there to-day, and I soon heard the drill work-
ing; one could tell the steel was hard; then I could hear
clapping of hands. * Ah,' thought I, * you may well clap
your hands together; it is not a particularly warm job to
be lying up there in the wind.' The worst of it is one
cannot wear mittens for such work, but has to use the
bare hands if one is to make any progress, and it would
not take long to freeze them off ; but it has to be done,
he says, and he will not give in. He is a splendid fellow
in all he undertakes, and I console him by saying that
there are not many before him who have worked on the
top of a mill in such frost north of 83°. On many ex-
peditions they have avoided out-of-door work when the
temperature got so low. * Indeed,' he says, * I thought
that other expeditions were in advance of us in that
respect. I imagined we had kept indoors too much.' I
had no hesitation in enlightening him on this point; I
know he will do his best in any case.
" This is, indeed, a strange time for me ; I feel as if I
were preparing for a summer trip and the spring were
already here, yet it is still midwinter, and the conditions of
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 75
the summer trip may be somewhat ambiguous. The ice
keeps quiet; the cracking in it and in the Fram is due
only to the cold. I have during the last few days again
read Payers account of his sledge expedition northward
through Austria Sound. It is not very encouraging. The
very land he describes as the realm of Death, where he
thinks he and his companions would inevitably have
perished had they not recovered the vessel, is the place
to which we look for salvation; that is the region we hope
to reach when our provisions have come to an end. It
may seem reckless, but nevertheless I cannot imagine
that it is so. I cannot help believing that a land which
even in April teems with bears, auks, and black guille-
mots, and where seals are basking on the ice, must be a
Canaan, ' flowing with milk and honey,* for two men who
have good rifles and good eyes; it must surely yield food
enough not only for the needs of the moment, but also
provisions for the journey onward to Spitzbergen. Some-
times, however, the thought will present itself that it
may be very difficult to get the food when it is most
sorely needed ; but these are only passing moments.
We must remember Carlyle's words: *A man shall and
must be valiant ; he must march forward, and quit himself
like a man — trusting imperturbably in the appointment
and choice of the Upper Powers.* I have not, it is true,
any ' Upper Powers *; it would probably be well to have
them in such a case, but we nevertheless are starting, and
the time approaches rapidly ; four weeks or a little more
76 FARTHEST NORTH
soon pass by, and then farewell to this snug nest, which
has been our home for eighteen months, and we go out
into the darkness and cold, out into the still more un-
known :
** * Out yonder 'tis dark,
But onward we must,
Over the dewy wet mountains,
Ride through the land of the ice-troll;
We shall both be saved,
Or the ice-troll's hand
Shall clutch us both.'"
On January 23d I write: "The dawn has grown so
much that there was a visible light from it on the ice,
and for the first time this year I saw the crimson glow of
the sun low down in the dawn." We now took sound-
ings with the lead before I was to leave the vessel ; we
found 1876 fathoms (3450 metres). I then made some
snow-shoes down in the hold ; it was important to have
them smooth, tough, and light, on which one could make
good headway; "they shall be well rubbed with tar,
stearine, and tallow, and there shall be speed in them ;
then it is only a question of using one's legs, and I have
no doubt that can be managed.
" Tuesday, January 29th. Latitude yesterday, 83° 30'.
(Some days ago we had been so far north as 83° 40',
but had again drifted southward.) The light keeps on
steadily increasing, and by noon it almost seems to be
broad daylight. I believe I could read the title of a
book out in the open if the print were large and clear.
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 77
I take a stroll every morning, greeting the dawning day,
before I go down into the hold to my work at the snow-
shoes and equipment. My mind is filled with a peculiar
sensation, which I cannot clearly define ; there is certainly
an exulting feeling of triumph, deep in the soul, a feeling
that all one's dreams are about to be realized with the
rising sun, which steers northward across the ice-bound
waters. But while I am busy in these familiar surround-
ings a wave of sadness sometimes comes over me ; it is
like bidding farewell to a dear friend and to a home
which has long afforded me a sheltering roof. At one
blow all this and my dear comrades are to be left behind
forever; never again shall I tread this snow -clad deck,
never again creep under this tent, never hear the laugh-
ter ring in this familiar saloon, never again sit in this
friendly circle.
" And then I remember that when the Fram at last
bursts from her bonds of ice, and turns her prow tow-
ards Norway, I shall not be with her. A farewell im-
parts to everything in life its own tinge of sadness, like
the crimson rays of the sun, when the day, good or bad,
sinks in tears below the horizon.
" Hundreds of times my eye wanders to the map
hanging there on the wall, and each time a chill creeps
over me. The distance before us seems so long, and the
obstacles in our path may be many; but then again the
feeling comes that we are bound to pull through : it
cannot be otherwise ; everything is too carefully prepared
78 FARTHEST NORTH
to fail now, and meanwhile the southeast wind is
whistling above us, and we are continually drifting
northward nearer our goal. When I go up on deck
and step out into the night with its glittering starry vault
and the flaring aurora borealis, then all these thoughts
recede, and I must, as ever, pause on the threshold of
this sanctuary — this dark, deep, silent space, this infinite
temple of nature, in which the soul seeks to find its ori-
gin. Toiling ant, what matters it whether you reach
your goal with your fir-needle or not? Everything dis-
appears none the less in the ocean of eternity, in the
great Nirvana; and as time rolls on our names are for-
gotten, our deeds pass into oblivion, and our lives flit
by like the traces of a cloud, and vanish like the mist
dispelled by the warm rays of the sun. Our time is
but a fleeting shadow, hurrying us on to the end — so it
is ordained; and having reached that end, none ever re-
traces his steps.
" Two of us will soon be journeying farther through
this immense waste, into greater solitudes and deeper
stillness.
"Wednesday, January 30th. To-day the great event
has happened, that the windmill is again at work for the
first time after its long rest. In spite of the cold and
the darkness, Amundsen had got the cog-wheels into
order, and now it is running as smoothly and steadily
as gutta-percha."
We have now constant northeast winds, and we again
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THE NEW YEAR, 1895 81
bore northward. On Sunday, February 3d, we were at
83° 43'. The time for our departure approached, and
the preparations were carried on with great activity.
The sledges were completed, and I tried them under
various conditions. I have alluded to the fact that
we made maple guards to put under the fixed nickel-
plated runners. The idea of this was to strengthen both
the sledges and the runners, so that they would at the
beginning of the journey, when the loads were heavy,
be less liable to breakage from the jolting to which they
would probably be exposed. Later on, when the load
got lighter, we might, if we thought fit, easily remove
them. These guards were also to serve another purpose.
I had an idea that, in view of the low temperature we
had during the winter, and on the dry drift-snow which
then covered the ice-floes, metal would glide less easily
than smooth wood, especially if the latter were well
rubbed with rich tar and stearine. By February 8th
one of the sledges with wooden guard-runners was fin-
ished, so that we could make experiments in this direc-
tion, and we then found that it was considerably easier
to haul than a similar sledge running on the nickel-
plate, though the load on each was exactly the same.
The difference was so great that we found that it was at
least half as hard again to draw a sledge on the nickel
runners as on the tarred maple runners.
Our new ash sledges were now nearly finished and
weighed 30 pounds without the guard-runners. '* Every-
II.— 6
S2 FARTHEST NORTH
body is hard at work. Sverdrup is sewing bags or
bolsters to put on the sledges as beds for the kayaks to
rest on. To this end the bags are to be made up to fit
the bottoms of the boats. Johansen with one or two
other men are stuffing the bags with pemmican, which
has to be warmed, beaten, and kneaded in order to give
it the right form for making a good bed for our precious
boats. When these square, flat bags are carried out into
the cold they freeze as hard as stone, and keep their form
well. Blessing is sitting up in the work-room, copying
the photographs of which I have no prints. Hansen is
working out a map of our route so far, and copying out
his observations for us, etc., etc. In short, there is
hardly a man on board who does not feel that the mo-
ment for departure approaches; perhaps the galley is
the only place where everything goes on in the usual
way under the management of Lars. Our position
yesterday was S3" 32.1 north latitude and 102° 28' east
longitude, so we are southward again ; but never mind,
what do a couple of miles more or less matter to us?
** Sunday, bVhruary loth. To-day there was so much
daylight that at i oVlock I could fairly well read the
/ >/■(/« 7/ A' (/<!// ;», when I held the paper up towards the
light ; hut when I held it towards the moon, which was
low in the luuth, it was no go. Before dinner I went for
a short drive with *liulen' and *Susine' (two of the
you!)g dogs) and * Kaifas.* * Gulen* had never been in
harness before, but yet she went quite well ; she was
THE SE'V YEAR. #.v>- ^5
cenain'v a ■iti'e awkvrard at first, but th.u soon c:?-
appeared. ar.d I think she w!I make a g'vxxj dog when
she b well trained. 'Susine," who was driven a little
last autumn, conducted herself quite like an old slcvige-
STOPPING A DOG-FIGHT
dog. The surface is hard, and easy for the dogs to haul
on. They get a good foothold, and the snow is not
particularly sharp for their feet ; however, it is not over-
smooth ; this drift-snow makes heavy going. The ice is
smooth, and easy to run on, and I trust we shall be able
to make good day-journeys; after all. we shall reach our
destination sooner than we had expected. I cannot deny
that it is a long journey, and scarcely any one has ever
more effectually burned his boats behind him. If wc
86 FARTHEST NORTH
wished to turn back we have absolutely nothing to return
to, not even a bare coast. It will be impossible to find
the ship, and before us lies the great unknown. But
there is only one road, and that lies straight ahead, right
through, be it land or sea, be it smooth or rough, be
it mere ice or ice and water. And I cannot but believe
that we must get through, even if we should meet with
the worst — viz., land and pack-ice.
" Wednesday, February 1 3th. The pemmican bolsters
and dried-liver pie are now ready ; the kayaks will get
an excellent bedding, and I venture to say that such
meat-bolsters are an absolute novelty. Under each
kayak there are three of them, they are made to fit the
sledge, and, as already stated, are moulded to the shape
of the kayak. They weigh 100 to 120 pounds each.
The empty sacks weigh 2 or 3 pounds each, so that alto-
gether the meat (pemmican and liver pie) in these three
bags will weigh about 320 pounds. We each had our light
sleeping-bags of reindeer-skin, and we tried to sleep out
in them last night, but both Johansen and I found it
rather cold, although it was only 37° Fahr. of frost.
We were, perhaps, too lightly clad under the wolfskin
clothing ; we are making another experiment with a little
more on to-night.
"Saturday, February i6th. The outfitting is still
progressing; but there are various small things 3^et to
do which take time, and I do not know whether we shall
be ready to start on Wednesday, February 20th, as I
THE NEW YEAR, 1895 89
originally intended. The day is now so light that, so far
as that is concerned, we might quite well start then ; but
perhaps we had better wait a day or two longer. Three
sledge -sails (for single sledges) are now finished; they
are made of verj^ light calico, and are about 7 feet 2
inches broad by 4 feet 4 inches long ; they are made so
that two of them may be laced together and used as one
sail for a double sledge, and I believe they will act well ;
they weigh a little over one pound each. Moreover, we
have now most of the provisions ready stowed away in
bags."
CHAPTER III
WE MAKE A START
"Tuesday, Februan- 26th. At last the day has ar-
rived, the great day, when the journey is to commence.
The week has passed in untiring work to get everything
ready. We should have started on the 20th, but it has
been postponed from day to day; there was always some-
thing still to do. My head has been full night and day,
with all that was to be done and that must not be for-
gotten. Oh, this unceasing mental strain, which does
not allow a minute s respite in which to throw off the
responsibility, to give loose rein to the thoughts, and let
the dreams have full sway ! The nerves are in a state of
tension from the moment of awaking in the morning till
the eyes close late at night. Ah ! how well I know this
state, which I have experienced each time I have been
about to set out and retreat was to be cut off — never, I
believe, more effectually than now ! The last few nights
I did not get to bed before half-past three or half -past
four o'clock in the morning. It is not only what we
ought to take with us that has to be taken care of, but
we have to leave the vessel ; its command and responsi-
fVE MAKE A START 9 1
bility have to be placed in other hands, and care must be
taken that nothing is forgotten in the way of instructions
to the men who remain, as the scientific observations
will have to be continued on the same lines as they have
been carried on hitherto, and other observations of all
kinds will have to be made, etc., etc."
The last night we were to spend on board the Fram
eventually arrived, and we had a farewell party. In a
strange, sad way, reminiscences were revived of all that
had befallen us here on board, mingled with hope and
trust in what the future would bring. I remained up till
far into the night ; letters and remembrances had to be
sent to those at home, in case the unforeseen should hap-
pen. Among the last things I wrote were the following
instructions to Sverdrup, in which I handed over to him
the command of the expedition :
" Captain Otto Sverdrup, Commander of the Fram :
" As I am now leaving the Fram, accompanied by
Johansen, to undertake a journey northward — if possible,
to the Pole — and from there to Spitzbergen, most likely
via Franz Josef Land, I make over to you the command
of the remaining part of the expedition. From the day
I leave the Fram, all the authority which hitherto was
vested in me shall devolve upon you to an equal extent,
and the others will have to render absolute obedience to
you, or to whomsoever you may depute as their leader. I
consider it superfluous to give any orders about what is
92 FARTHEST NORTH
to be done under various contingencies, even if it were
possible to give any. I am certain you will know best
yourself what ought to be done in any emergency, and I
therefore consider that I may with confidence leave the
Fram.
" The chief aim of the expedition is to push through
the unknown Polar Sea from the region around the New
Siberian Islands, north of Franz Josef Land, and on-
ward to the Atlantic Ocean, near Spitzbergen or Green-
land. The most essential part of this task, I consider,
we have already accomplished; the remainder will be
achieved as the expedition gets farther west. In order to
make the expedition still more fruitful of results, I am
making an attempt to push farther up north with the
dogs. Your task will then be to convey home, in the
safest manner possible, the human lives now confided to
your care, and not to expose them to any unnecessary
danger, either out of regard for the ship or cargo, or for
the scientific outcome of the expedition. No one can tell
how long it may take before the Fram drifts out into open
water. You have provisions for several years to come ; if
for any unknown reason it should take too long, or if the
crew should begin to suffer in health, or if from other
reasons you should think it best to abandon the vessel, it
should unquestionably be done. As to the time of the
year when this should be done, and the route to be chos-
en, you yourself will be best able to judge. If it should
be necessary, I consider Franz Josef Land and Spitz-
« I
IV£ MAKE A START 95
bergen favorable lands to make for. If search is made
for the expedition after the arrival home of Johansen
and myself, it will be made there first. Wherever you
come to land, you should, as often as you can, erect con-
spicuous beacons on promontories and projecting head-
lands, and place within the beacons a short report of
what has occurred, and whither you are going. In order
to distinguish these beacons from others, a small beacon
should be erected 4 metres from the larger one in the
direction of the magnetic North Pole. The question as
to what outfit would be most advantageous in case the
Fram should have to be abandoned is one which we have
so frequently discussed that I consider it superfluous to
dwell on it here. I know that you will take care that
the requisite number of kayaks for all the men, sledges,
snow-shoes, " truger,' and other articles of outfit are put
in complete order as soon as possible, and kept in readi-
ness, so that such a journey home over the ice could be
undertaken with the greatest possible ease. Elsewhere I
give you directions as to the provisions which I consider
most suitable for such a journey, and the quantity neces-
sary for each man.
" I also know that you will hold everything in readi-
ness to abandon the Fram in the shortest possible time
in the event of her suffering sudden damage, whether
through fire or ice -pressure. If the ice permits it, I
consider it advisable that a depot, with sufficient provi-
sions, etc., should be established at a safe place on the
96 FARTHEST NORTH
ice, such as we have lately had. All necessaries which
cannot be kept on the ice ought to be so placed on board
that they are easy to get at under any circumstances. As
you are aware, all the provisions now in the depot are con-
centrated foods for sledging journeys only; but as it may
happen that you will have to remain inactive for a time
before going farther, it would be highly desirable to save
as much tinned meat, fish, and vegetables as possible;
should troublous times come then, I should consider it
advisable to have a supply of these articles ready on the
ice.
"Should the Fram while drifting be carried far to
the north of Spitzbergen, and get oyer into the current
under the east coast of Greenland, many possibilities may
be imagined which it is not easy to form an opinion on
now; but should you be obliged to abandon the Fram
and make for the land, it would be best for you to erect
beacons there, as stated above (with particulars as to
whither you are going, etc.), as search might possibly
be made there for the expedition. Whether in that case
you ought to make for Iceland (which is the nearest
land, and where you should be able to get in the early
part of summer, if following the edge of the ice), or
for the Danish colonies west of Cape Farewell, you
will be best able to judge on considering all the circum-
stances.
" As regards what you ought to take with you in the
event of abandoning the Fram, besides the necessary
IV£ MAKE A START 97
provisions, I may mention weapons, ammunition, and
equipment, all scientific and other journals ajid obser-
vations^ all scientific collections that are not too heavy, or.
if too heavy, small samples thereof; photographs, pref-
erably the original plates (or films); or should these
prove too heavy, then prints taken from them ; also the
* Aderman ' aerometer, with which most of the observa-
tions on the specific gravity of sea-water are taken ; as
well as, of course, all journals and memoranda which
are of any interest. I leave behind some diaries and
letters, which I would request you to take special care of
and deliver to Eva if I should not return home, or if,
contrary to all expectation, you should return home be-
fore us.
" Hansen and Blessing will, as you know, attend to
the various scientific expeditions and to the collecting
of specimens. You yourself will attend to the sound-
ings, and see that they are taken as frequently as possible
and as the condition of the line permits. I should con-
sider at least once in every 60 miles covered to be ex-
tremely desirable ; if it can be done oftener so much the
better. Should the depth become less than now and
more variable, it goes without saying that soundings
should be taken more frequently.
" As the crew was small before, and will now be still
further reduced by two men, more work will probably
fall to each man's lot ; but I know that, whenever you
can, you will spare men to assist in the scientific ob-
11.-7
98 FARTHEST NORTH
servations, and make them as complete as possible.
Please also see that every tenth day (the first, tenth,
and twentieth of every month) the ice is bored through,
and the thickness measured, in the same way as has
been done hitherto. Henriksen has for the most part
made these borings, and is a trustworthy man for this
work.
" In conclusion, I wish all possible success to you, and
to those for whom you are now responsible, and may we
meet again in Norway, whether it be on board of this
vessel or without her.
"Yours affectionately,
" Fridtjof Nansen.
" On board the Fram,
" February 25, 1895."
" Now at last the brain was to get some rest, and the
work for the legs and arms to commence. Ever}^thing
was got ready for the start this morning. Five of our
comrades, Sverdrup, Hansen, Blessing, Henriksen, and
Mogstad, were to see us off on our way, bringing a
sledge and a tent with them. The four sledges were got
ready, the dogs harnessed to them, lunch, with a bottle
of malt extract per man, was taken just before start-
ing, and then we bade the last hearty farewell to those
left behind. We were off into the drifting snow. I
myself took the lead with ' Kvik * as leading dog, in the
first sledge, and then sledge after sledge followed amid
IV£ MAKE A START 99
cheers, accompanied by the cracking of whips and the
barking of dogs. At the same time a salute was fired
from the quarter-deck, shot after shot, into the whirling
drift. The sledges moved heavily forward; it was slow
travelling uphill, and they came to a dead stop where
the ascent was too steep, and we all had to help them
along — one man alone could not do it; but over level
ground we flew along like a whirlwind, and those on
snow-shoes found it difficult enough to keep pace with
the sledges. I had to strike out as best I could when
they came up to me to avoid getting my legs entangled
in the line. A man is beckoning with his staff far in
the rear. It is Mogstad, who comes tearing along and
shouting that three * floitstokker ' * (crossbars) had been
torn off a sledge in driving. The sledge, with its heavy
load, had lurched forward over an upright piece of ice,
which struck the crossbars, breaking all three of them,
one after the other; one or two of the perpendicular
supports of the runners were also smashed. There was
nothing for it but to return to the ship to get it repaired
and have the sledges made stronger. Such a thing
ought not to happen again. During the return one of
the sledges lurched up against another, and a cane in the
bow snapped. The bows would, therefore, also have to
be made stronger.!
* The crossbars on the sledge that connect the perpendicular sup-
ports of the runners with each other.
t The sledge runners were connected in front by a bow, consisting of
100 FARTHEST NORTH
" The sledges have again been unloaded and brought
on board in order that this may be done, and here we are
again to-night. I am glad, however, that this happened
when it did ; it would have been worse to have had
such an experience a few days later. I will now take
six sledges instead of four, so that the load on each may
be less, and so that it will be easier to lift them over the
irregularities of the ground. I shall also have a broad
board fitted lengthwise to the sledge, underneath the
crossbars, so as to protect them against projecting pieces
of ice. As a great deal of time is saved in the end by
doing such things thoroughly before starting, we shall
not be ready to start before the day after to-morrow. It
seemed strange to be on board again after having said
good-bye, as I thought, forever, to these surroundings.
When I came up on the after- deck, I found the guns
lying there in the snow, one of them turned over on its
back, the other had recoiled a long way aft, when sa-
luting us ; from the mizzen-top the red and black flag
was still waving.
" I am in wonderfully high spirits, and feel confident
of success; the sledges seemed to glide so easily, although
carrying 200 pounds more than was originally intended
(about 2200 pounds altogether), and everything looks
very promising. We shall have to wait a couple of days,
but as we are having a southeasterly wind all day long,
three or four pieces of rattan cane lashed together ; it is to this bow the
hauling-lines are fastened.
IV£ MAKE A STAJ^.'^'' 1 01
9 ^ m M
we are no doubt getting on towards the h6rfl>, all the
same. Yesterday we were 83° 47'; to-day I suppose;.- we
are at least 83° 50'." *'--/;
At last, on Thursday, February 28th, we started again
with our six sledges. Sverdrup, Hansen, Blessing, Hen-
riksen, and Mogstad saw us off. When we started, most
of the others also accompanied us some distance. We
soon found that the dogs did not draw as well as I had
expected, and I came to the conclusion that with this
load we should get on too slowly. We had not pro-
ceeded far from the ship before I decided to leave be-
hind some of the sacks with provisions for the dogs,
and these were later on taken back on board by the
others.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when we stopped, our
odometer* showed that we had gone about 4 miles from
the Fram. We had a pleasant evening in the tent, to-
gether with our friends who were going back the next
day. To my surprise a punch-bowl was prepared, and
toasts were proposed for those who were starting and
those who remained behind. It was not until 1 1 o clock
that we crept into our sleeping-bags.
There were illuminations in our honor that night
on board the Fram. The electric arc lamp was hoist-
ed on the maintop, and the electric light for the first
♦ This odometer had been made on board, shortly before starting, out
of the works of an old anemometer. The odometer was fastened behind
the last sledge, and indicated fairly correctly the distance covered by us.
•••
• _ •
I02 •• ... FARTHEST NORTH
• • •
. : - •
time shone •forth over the ice masses of the Polar Sea.
• ■
Tqrp hdg had also been lit, and bonfires of oakum-ends
.•ajl;3f> other combustibles were burning on several floes
... V>aYound the Fram and making a brilliant show. Sver-
drup had, by-the-way, given orders that the electric light
or a lantern should be hoisted on the maintop every
night until he and the others had returned, for fear they
might lose their way if the tracks should be obliterated
by bad weather. It would then be very difficult to find
the ship ; but such a light can be seen a long distance
over these plains, where by merely standing on a hum-
mock one can easily get a view for many miles round.
I was afraid that the dogs, if they got loose, would
go back to the Franty and I therefore got two steel
lines made, to which short leashes were fastened a little
distance apart, so that the dogs could be secured to
these lines between two sticks or sledges. In spite of
this, several of the dogs got loose ; but, strange to say,
they did not leave us, but remained with their comrades
and us. There was, of course, a doleful howling round
the tents the first night, and they disturbed our sleep
to some extent.
The next morning (Friday, March ist) it took one
of our comrades three hours to make the coffee, being
unaccustomed to the apparatus. We then had a very
nice breakfast together. Not before 11.30 a.m. did we
get under way. Our five comrades accompanied us for
an hour or two and then turned to get back to the Fram
PV£ MAKE A START 105
the same evening. " It was certainly a most cheerful
good-bye," says the diary, " but it is always hard to part,
even at 84°, and maybe there was a tearful eye or two."
The last thing Sverdrup asked me when sitting on his
sledge, just as we were about to part, was, if I thought I
should go to the South Pole when I got home ; for if so,
he hoped I would wait till he arrived ; and then he asked
me to give his love to his wife and child.
And so we proceeded, Johansen and I, but it was
slow work for us alone with six sledges, which were
impeded on their way by all sorts of obstacles and
inequalities. Besides this, the ice became rougher, so
that it was difficult to get on during the afternoon on
account of the darkness, the days being still very short
and the sun was not yet above the horizon. We there-
fore camped rather early.
" Wednesday, March 6th. We are again on board
the Fram to make a fresh start, for the third time, and
then, I suppose, it will be in earnest. On Saturday,
March 2d, we proceeded with the six sledges after I
had been a trip to the northward and found it passable.
Progress was slow, and we had to do nearly six turns
each, as the sledges stopped everywhere and had to be
helped along. I saw now too clearly that we should
never get on in this manner; a change would have to be
made, and I decided to camp in order to have a look at
the ice northward and consider the matter. Having tied
up the dogs, I set out, while Johansen was to feed the
io6 FARTHEST NORTH
dogs and put up the tent. They were fed once in every
24 hours, at night, when the day's march was done.
" I had not gone far when I came upon excellent
spacious plains ; good progress could be made, and so far
everything was all right ; but the load had to be diminished
and the number of sledges reduced. Undoubtedly, there-
fore, it would be best to return to the Fram to make the
necessary alterations on board, and get the sledges we
were to take with us further strengthened, so as to have
perfect confidence in their durability.
"We might, of course, have dragged along somehow
towards the north for a while, and the load would gradu-
ally have decreased ; but it would have been slow work,
and before the load would be sufficiently lightened the
dogs would perhaps be worn out. It was cold for them
at night; we heard many of them howling most of the
night. If, however, we diminished the load, and conse-
quently allowed a shorter time for the journey, it would
be preferable to wait, and not start till a little later in the
month, when we could make more out of the time, as the
days would be lighter and not so cold and the snow-
surface better. Having spent another night in the tent
— into which it was a hard job to get, dressed in a fur
that was stiff with frost, and then into a bag that was
also hard frozen — I decided next morning (Sunday,
March 3d) to return to the Fram. I harnessed a
double team of dogs to one of the sledges, and off they
went over pressure - ridges and all other obstacles so
iy£ MAKE A START
107
rapidly that I could hardly keep up with them. In a
few hours I covered the same distance which had taken
us three days when we started out. The advantage of
a lighter load was only too apparent.
" As I approached the Fram I saw, to my surprise, the
upper edge of the sun above the ice in the south. It
SUNDAY AFTERNOON ON BOARD
was the first time this year, but I had not expected it as
yet. It was the refraction caused by the low temperature
which made it visible so soon. The first news I heard
from those who came to meet me was that Hansen had
io8 FARTHEST NORTH
the previous afternoon taken an observation, which gave
84° 4' north latitude.
" It was undoubtedly very pleasant once more to
stretch my limbs on the sofa in the Fram's saloon, to
quench my thirst in delicious lime-juice with sugar, and
again to dine in a civilized manner. In the afternoon
Hansen and Nordahl went back to Johansen with my
team of dogs, to keep him company overnight. When I
left him it was understood that he was to start on the
return journey as best he could, until I came with others
to help him. The dogs lost no time, and the two men
reached Johansen's tent in an hour and twenty minutes.
At night both they and we had rejoicings in honor of
the sun and the 84th degree.
" The next morning three of us went off and fetched
the sledges back. Now, when we made for the ship, the
dogs dragged much better, and in a short time we should
have been on board had it not been for a long lane in the
ice which we could see no end to, and which stopped us.
Finally we left the sledges and, together with the dogs,
managed to cross over on some loose pieces of ice and
got on board. Yesterday we twice tried to fetch the
sledges, but there had evidently been some movement in
the lane, and the new ice was still so thin Ihat we dared
not trust it. We have, however, to-day got them on
board, and we will now for the last time, it is to be hoped,
prepare ourselves for the journey. I will now plan out
the journey so as to take the shortest possible time, using
PF£ MAKE A START 109
light sledges and tearing along as fast as legs and snow-
shoes will carry us. We shall be none the worse for this
delay, provided we do not meet too much pack-ice or too
many openings in the ice.
" I have weighed all the dogs and have come to the
conclusion that we can feed them on each other and keep
going for about fifty days; having, in addition to this, dog
provisions for about thirty days, we ought to be able to
travel with dogs for eighty days, and in that time it seems
to me we should have arrived somewhere. And, besides,
we have provisions for ourselves for one hundred days.
This will be about 440 pounds on each sledge if we
take three, and with nine dogs per sledge we ought to
manage it/'
So here we were again, busy with preparations and
improvements. In the meantime the ice moved a little,
broke up, and lanes were formed in various directions.
On March 8th I say : " The crack in the large floe to
starboard, formed while we were away, opened yesterday
into a broad lane, which we can see stretching with new-
ly frozen ice towards the horizon, both north and south.
It is odd how that petroleum launch is always in 'hot
water ' wherever it is. This crack formed underneath it,
so it was hanging with the stern over the water when
they found it in the morning. We have now decided to
cut it up and use the elm-boards for the sledge-runners.
That will be the end of it.
" Wednesday, March 13th. 84° north latitude, loi**
I lO FARTHEST NORTH
55' east longitude. The days have passed, working again
at the equipment. Everything is now in order. Three
sledges are standing ready out on the ice, properly
strengthened in every way, with iron fastenings between
uprights and crossbars. These last-mentioned are secure-
ly strengthened with extra top -pieces of ash, and pro-
tected underneath by boards. This afternoon we tried
the dogs with sledges loaded, and they went as easily as
could be, and to-morrow we start again for the last time,
full of courage and confidence and with the sun up, in
the assurance that we are going towards ever brighter
days.
" To-night there has been a great farewell feast, with
many hearty speeches, and to-morrow we depart as
early as possible, provided our dissipation has not de-
layed us. I have to-night added the following postscript
to Sverdrup's instructions :
" ' P.S. — In the foregoing instructions, which I wrote
rather hurriedly on the night of February 25th, I omitted
to mention things that should have been alluded to. I
will restrict myself here to stating, further, that should you
sight unknown land, everything ought, of course, to be
done in order to ascertain and examine it, as far as cir-
cumstances will permit. Should the Fram drift so near
that you think it can be reached without great risk,
everything that can be done to explore the land would
be of the greatest interest. Every stone, every blade of
WE MAKE A START m
grass, lichen, or moss, every animal, from the largest to
the smallest, would be of great importance ; photographs,
and an exact description should not be neglected ; at the
same time, it should be traversed to the greatest possible
extent, in order to ascertain its coast-line, size, etc. All
such things should, however, only be done, provided
they can be accomplished without danger. If the Fram
is adrift in the ice, it is clear that only short excursions
should be made from her, as the members of such ex-
peditions might encounter great difficulties in reaching
the vessel again. Should the Fram remain stationary
for any time, such expeditions should still be undertaken
only with great discretion, and not be extended over
any great length of time, as no one can foresee when she
may commence to drift again, and it would be very un-
desirable for all concerned if the crew of the Fram were
to be still further reduced.
" * We have so often spoken together about the scien-
tific researches, that I do not consider it necessary to
give any further suggestions here. I am certain that you
will do everything in your power to make them as perfect
as possible, so that the expedition may return with as
good results as the circumstances will permit. And now
once again, my wishes for all possible success, and may
we meet again before long.
" * Your affectionate,
" ' Fridtjof Nansen.
"*The Fram, March 13, 1895/"
1 1 2 FAR THE ST NOR TH
Before leaving the Fram for good I ought, perhaps, to
give a short account of the equipment we finally decided
on as the most likely to suit our purposes.
I have already mentioned the two kayaks that
had been made during the course of the winter,
and that we required to have with us in order to
cross possible channels and pools, and also for use
when we should come to open sea. Instead of these
kayaks, I had at first thought of taking ready-made can-
vas boat-covers, and of using the sledges as frames to
stretch them over. By this means a craft perfectly
capable of carrying us over lanes and short bits of open
sea could have been rigged up in a very short space of
time. I subsequently gave up this idea, however, and
decided on the kayak, a craft with which I was fa-
miliar, and which I knew would render valuable assist-
ance in several respects. Even if we had been able to
contrive a cover for the sledges in such a manner that a
boat could have been got ready in a short space of time,
it would not have been such quick work as simply
launching a ready-made kayak. Added to this, the craft
would, necessarily, have been heavy to row ; and when it
was a question of long distances in open water, such as
along the coasts of Franz Josef Land, or across thence
to Spitzbergen, much time would have been lost. One
consideration indeed, and that of some moment, was the
saving in weight if the sledges were made use of; but
even this was not of so much importance as it seemed.
IVjE make a start 113
as the covers of both kinds of craft would have weighed
about the same, and what would have been saved in the
weight of the frames was not much, if one remembers
that a whole kayak-frame only weighs about 16 pounds.
Then, too, if kayaks were used, some weight would be
saved by being able to carry our provisions and other
impedimenta in bags of thin material, which could be
stowed away in the kayaks, and the latter lashed to the
sledges. Our provisions would thus be protected against
all risk of attack by dogs, or of being cut by sharp pieces
of ice. The other alternative — the canvas cover — which
would have required fitting on and folding up again after
being in the water, would, necessarily, in the low tem-
peratures we had to expect, have become spoiled and
leaky. Last, but not least, the kayak, with its tightly
covered deck, is a most efficient sea-boat, in which one
can get along in any kind of weather, and is also an
admirable craft for shooting and fishing purposes. The
boat which one could have contrived by the other expe-
dient could with difficulty have been made any way
satisfactory in this respect.
I have also mentioned the sledges which I had made
for this expedition. They were of the same pattern as
those built for the Greenland one ; somewhat resembling
in shape the Norwegian "skikjelke,"* which is a low
hand-sledge on broad runners, similar to our ordinary
* They were 12 feet long, i foot 9J inches broad, and rode about 5
inches above the snow.
II.— 8
114 FARTHEST NORTH
" ski." But instead of the broad, flat runners we used in
Greenland, I had the runners made in this case about
the same in width (3^ inches), but somewhat convex
underneath, like those to be found on the " skikjelke "
of Osterdalen and elsewhere. These convex runners
proved to move very easily on the kind of country
which we had to travel over, and they enabled the long
sledges to be turned with ease, which was particularly
convenient in the drift-ice, where the many irregularities
often necessitated a very zigzag route. The runners
were covered with a thin plate of German silver, which,
as it always keeps bright and smooth and does not rust,
answered its purpose well. As I mentioned before, there
were thin, loose, well-tarred guard-runners of a kind of
maple {Acer platonides) underneath the German-silver
ones. The sledges were also prepared in various other
ways, which have been treated of before, for the heavy
loads they were to carry at the beginning. The result
of this was that they were somewhat heavier than I had
intended at first; but in return I had the satisfaction of
their being fit for use during the whole journey, and
not once were we stopped or delayed by their break-
ing down. This has hardly been the case with former
sledge journeys.
I have referred several times to our clothes, and our
trial-trips in them. Although we had come to the con-
clusion that our wolfskin garments were too warm for
travelling in, we took them with us all the same on our
WE MAKE A START 1 15
first trip, and wore them too, to a certain extent ; but we
soon discovered that they were always too warm, and
caused undue perspiration. By absorbing all the moist-
ure of the body they became so heavy that they made an
appreciable difference in the weight of our loads, and on
our return from our three days' absence from the vessel
were so wet that they had to be hung for a long time
over the saloon stove to dry. To this was added the
experience that when we took them off in the cold, after
having worn them for a time, they froze so stiff that it
was difficult to get them on again. The result of all
this was that I was not very favorably disposed towards
them, and eventually made up my mind to keep to my
woollen clothes, which I thought would give free outlet
to the perspiration. Johansen followed my example.
Our clothes then came to consist of about the following :
On the upper part of the body two woollen shirts
(Jaegers); outside these I had a camel's-hair coat, and
last of all a thick, rough jersey. Instead of the jersey,
Johansen wore what is called on board ship an " anorak,"
of thick homespun, provided with a hood, which he
could pull forward in front of his face, and made after an
Eskimo pattern. On our legs we had, next our skin,
woollen drawers, and over these knickerbockers and
loose gaiters of close Norwegian homespun. To protect
us from wind and fine-driven snow, w^hich, being of the
nature of dust, forces itself into every pore of a woollen
fabric, we wore a suit which has been mentioned before,
Ii6 FARTHEST NORTH
made of a thin, close kind of cotton canvas, and consist-
ing of an upper garment to pull over the head, provided
with a hood in Eskimo fashion, and a lower one in the
shape of a pair of wide overalls.
An important item in an outfit is ih^ foot-gear. In-
stead of wearing long stockings, I preferred to use loose
stocking - legs and socks, as these are easy to dry on
one's chest when asleep at night. On a journey of
this kind, where one is continually travelling over snow
and in a low temperature, whether it be on " ski "
or not, my experience is that Finn shoes are, without
doubt, the most satisfactory covering for the feet in
every way, but they must be made of the skin of the
hind -legs of the reindeer buck. They are warm and
strong, they are always flexible, and are easy to put on
and take off. They require careful management, however,
if they are not to be spoiled at the outset, and one must
try as well as one can to dry them when asleep at night.
If it be sunny and good drying weather outside, the best
plan is to hang them on a couple of " ski " staffs, or
something of the kind, in the wind outside the tent,
preferably turned inside out, so that the skin itself can
dry quickly. If one does not take this precaution the
hair will soon begin to fall out. In severe cold, such
as we had on the first part of our journey, it was impos-
sible to dry them in this way, and our only resource
was then to dry them on the feet at night, after having
carefully brushed and scraped them free from snow and
IV£ MAKE A START n?
moisture. Then the next process is to turn them inside
out, fill them with " sennegraes," or sedge, if one have
it, thrust one's feet in, and creep into the sleeping-bag
with them on.* For milder weather later on we had
provided ourselves with leather boots of the " komager "
type, such as the Lapps use in summer. In this case
they were made of under-tanned ox-hide, with soles of
the skin of the blue seal {Phoca barbara) ; well rubbed in
with a composition of tar and tallow, they make a wonder-
fully strong and water-tight boot, especially for use in wet
weather. Inside the "finsko" we used, at the beginning
of our journey, this "sennegraes" (Carex cpsicaria\ of
which we had taken a supply. This is most effective in
keeping the feet dry and warm, and if used Lapp-wise,
/>., with bare feet, it draws all moisture to itself. At
night the wet " sennegraes " must be removed from the
boots, well pulled out with the fingers, so that it does
not cling together, and then dried during the night by
being worn inside the coat or trousers-leg. In the morn-
ing it will be about dry, and can be pressed into the
boots again. Little by little, however, it becomes used
up, and if it is to last out a long journey a good supply
must be taken.
We also had with us socks made of sheep's wool and
human hair, which were both warm and durable. Then,
too, we took squares of " vadmel," or Norwegian home-
* Compare my description of " finsko," in The First Crossing of Green-
land, pp. 47 and 48.
< j^'M/ i'.iit h ,#:. ;*M uv /J Hi '/'jf armv, which we wore inside
nni \'ffhhn// t /)/;irfi/.ul;irly rny»elfj on the latter part of
ilM I'HMM' y, wIm'M iIm! nriow was wet They are comfort-
hM« Im W'';u ;uhI <*;i»y to dry, as one can spread them out
iiimI* » iMM**s> roat or trousers at night.
< hi our hands wc wore large gloves of wolfskin, in
MiMilion to ordinary woollen mittens underneath, neither
ol I hem having separate divisions for the fingers. Ex-
iully I ho same drying process had to be gone through
with the gloves as with the foot-gear. Altogether the
wartuth of ones unfortunate body, which is the only
soutx 0 of heat one has for this sort ot i^-ork. is chiefly ex-
^XMuloti in the ofi'on to dr\^ ccje s vjirious garments ; and
wt^ sjx^nt our r5:i:iixs in m^c ccccpresjes. in order that the
morrow ^v.:c^- '-^^J^^ ^" ^^ ^"^^'^ more comfort.
vV, .x:: i.cw^^ ^v ^cr<^ ^?^t hat5> which shaded the eyes
:ro"" :v .'"U^: ■ *^ -^^^- J^ were less per\'ious to the
^- Xs .^^t" x^ >Nv::cNiry wov^Uen cap. Outside the hat we
^,xs ,i -. \x^ x"ix^ or :>iio hoods of cloth. By this means
mv o.x. c. \^;,.:^3l^^ :he warmth of our heads to a certain
,v^ . xx: ;>^> is nv> unimportant thing.
:. \^.l >ocn n^vv^riginal intention to use light one-man
><« N «,c->HfsV?. made of the skin of the reindeer calf. As
: V'^o. however, pn^vcd to be insufficiently warm, I had to
:\^^:t :o the same principle we went on in Greenland,
j.*\x a vUniblc bag of adult reindeer-skin ; a considerable
iucixwso of \vam\th is thus attained by the fact that the
vx\ uiwnts warm each other. Furthermore, a bag for two
WE MAKE A START 119
men is not a little lighter than two single bags. An
objection has been raised to joint bags on the score that
one's night's rest is apt to be disturbed, but this I have
not found to be the case.
Something which, in my opinion, ought not to be
omitted from a sledge journey is a tent. Even if thin
and frail, it affords the members of an expedition so
much protection and comfort that the inconsiderable
increase in weight to the equipment is more than
compensated for. The tents that I had had made for
the expedition were of strong undressed silk and very
light. They were square at the base and pointed at
the top, and were pitched by means only of a tent-pole
in the middle, on the same principle as the four-man
tents used in our army. Most of them had canvas
floors attached. On our first start we took with us
a tent of this kind, intended to hold four men and
weighing a little over 7 pounds. The floor is a certain
advantage, as it makes the whole tent compact and is
quick to put up, besides being more impervious to wind.
The whole tent is sewed in one piece, walls and floor
together, and the only opening a little split through
which to crawl. One drawback, however, to it is, that
it is almost impossible not to carry in with one a certain
amount of snow on the feet. This melts during the
night from the heat of one s body lying on it, and the
floor absorbs the moisture, thereby causing the tent to be
always a good deal heavier than the figures given here.
I20 FARTHEST NORTH
I accordingly relinquished all ifJea of a tent of this
kind, and took with me one of about the same dimen-
sions, but without a floor, and of the same silk material
as the other. It took a little longer to put up, but the
difference was not great. The walls were kept down by
pegs, and when all was finished we would bank it care-
fully round with snow to exclude wind and draughts.
Then came the actual pitching of the tent, which was
accomplished by crawling in through the entrance and
poking it up with a " ski " staff, which also served as tent-
pole. It weighed a fraction over 3 pounds, including 16
pegs, lasted the whole journey through — that is to say,
until the autumn — and was always a cherished place of
refuge.
The cooking apparatus we took with us had the
advantage of utilizing to the utmost the fuel consumed.
With it we were able, in a very short space of time, to
cook food and simultaneously melt an abundance of drink-
ing-water, so that both in the morning and in the evening
we were able to drink as much as we wished, and even a
surplus remained. The apparatus consisted of two boilers
and a vessel for melting snow or ice in, and was con-
structed in the following manner: Inside a ring-shaped
vessel was placed the boiler, while underneath this again
was the lamp. The entire combustion output was thus
forced to mount into the space between the boiler and the
ring-shaped vessel. Over this was a tight-fitting lid with
a hole in the middle, through which the hot air was
Pf^E MAKE A START 1 21
obliged to pass before it could penetrate farther and reach
the bottom of a flat snovv-melter, which was placed above
it. Then, after having delivered some part of its heat,
the air was forced down again on the outside of the ring-
shaped vessel by the help of a mantle, or cap, which sur-
rounded the whole. Here it parted with its last remain-
ing warmth to the outer side of the ring-vessel, and finally
escaped, almost entirely cooled, from the lower edge of
the mantle.
For the heating was used a Swedish gas-petroleum
lamp, known as the "Primus," in which the heat turns the
petroleum into gas before it is consumed. By this means
it renders the combustion unusually complete. Numerous
experiments made by Professor Torup at his laboratory
proved that the cooker in ordinary circumstances yielded
90 to 93 per cent, of the heat which the petroleum con-
sumed should, by combustion, theoretically evolve. A
more satisfactory result, I think, it would be difficult to
obtain. The vessels in this cooker were made of German
silver, while the lid, outside cap, etc., w^ere of aluminium.
Together with two tin mugs, two tin spoons, and a tin
ladle, it weighed exactly 8 pounds 13 ounces, while the
lamp, the " Primus," weighed 4^ ounces.
As fuel, my choice this time fell on petroleum (" snow-
flake "). Alcohol, which has generally been used before
on Arctic expeditions, has several advantages, and, in
particular, is easy to burn. One decided drawback to it,
however, is the fact that it does not by any means gen-
FARTHEST NORTH
THE COOKING APPARATUS
erate so much heat in comparison with its weight as
petroleum when the latter is entirely consumed, as was
the case with the lamp used by us. As I was afraid that
petroleum might freeze, I had a notion of employing gas-
oil, but gave up the idea, as it escapes so easily that it
is difficult to preserve, and is, moreover, very explosive.
We had no difficulties with our " snowflake " petroleum
on account of the cold. We took with us rather more
WJS MAKE A START 123
than 4 gallons, and this quantity lasted us 1 20 days, en-
abling us to cook two hot meals a day and melt an
abundance of water.
Of snow-shoes we took several pairs, as we had to be
prepared for breakages in the uneven drift-ice ; besides
this, they would probably get considerably worn in the
summer-time when the snow became wet and granular.
Those we took with us were particularly tough, and slid
readily. They were, for the most part, of the same kind
of maple as the sledges, and of birch and hickory. They
had all been well rubbed in with a concoction of tar,
stearine, and tallow.
As we calculated to subsist, in a measure, on what we
could shoot ourselves, it was necessary for us to have
firearms. The most important gun for this kind of
work is, naturally, the rifle ; but as, in all likelihood, we
should have to go across large expanses of snow, where
probably there would be little big game, and whereas, on
the other hand, birds might very likely come flying over
our heads, I thought shot-guns would be the most ser-
viceable to us. Therefore we decided on the same
equipment in this respect as we had in Greenland. We
took with us two double-barrelled guns (biichsflints) ;
each of them having a shot-barrel of 20-bore and a barrel
for ball (Express) of about .360 calibre. Our supply of
ammunition consisted of about 180 rifle cartridges and
150 shot cartridges.
Our instruments for determining our position and for
124 FARTHEST NORTH
working sights were : a small, light theodolite, specially
constructed for the purpose, which, with its case (this I
had also had made to act as a stand) only weighed a
little over two pounds. We had, furthermore, a pocket
sextant and an artificial glass horizon, a light azimuth
compass of aluminium, and a couple of other compasses.
For the meteorological observations we had a couple of
aneroid barometers, two minimum spirit - thermometers
and three quicksilver sling -thermometers. In addition
to these, we had a good aluminium telescope, and also a
photographic camera.
The most difficult, but also, perhaps, the most im-
portant, point in the equipment of a sledge expedition
is thoroughly good and adequate victualling. I have
already mentioned, in the Introduction to this book, that
the first and foremost object is to protect one's self
against scurvy and other maladies by the choice of foods,
which, through careful preparation and sterilization, are
assured against decomposition. On a sledge expedition
of this kind, where so much attention must be paid to
the weight of the equipment, it is hardly possible to take
any kinds of provisions, except those of which the weight
has been reduced as much as possible by careful and
complete drying. As, however, meat and fish are not so
easily digested when dried, it is no unimportant thing to
have them in a pulverized form. The dried food is, in
this manner, so finely distributed that it can with equal
facility be digested and received into the organism.
WE MAKE A START 125
This preparation of meat and fish was, therefore, the
only kind we took with us. The meat was muscular
beef, taken from the ox, and freed from all fat, gristle,
etc. ; it was then dried as quickly as possible, in a com-
pletely fresh condition, and thereupon ground and mixed
with the same proportion of beef suet as is used in the
ordinary preparation of pemmican. This form of food,
which has been used for a considerable time on sledge
expeditions, has gained for itself much esteem, and
rightly ; if well prepared, as ours was, it is undeniably a
nourishing and easily digested food.* One ought not,
however, to trust to its always being harmless, as, if care-
lessly prepared — />., slowly or imperfectly dried — it may
also be very injurious to the health.
Another item of our provisions, by which we set great
store, was Vage's fish flour. It is well prepared and has
admirable keeping qualities ; if boiled in water and mixed
with flour and butter or dried potatoes, it furnishes a
very appetizing dish. Another point which should be
attended to is that the food be of such a kind that it can
be eaten without cooking. Fuel is part of an equipment,
no doubt ; but if for some reason or other this be lost or
* I had also had prepared a large quantity of pemmican, consisting of
equal parts of meat-powder and vegetable fat (from the cocoanut). This
pemmican, however, proved to be rather an unfortunate invention ; even
the dogs would not eat it after they had tasted it once or twice. Perhaps
this is accounted for by the fact that vegetable fat is heavily digested, and
contains acids which irritate the mucous membranes of the stomach and
throat.
126 FARTHEST NORTH
used up, one would be in a bad case indeed, had one not
provided against such a contingency by taking food
which could be eaten in spite of that. In order to save
fuel, too, it is important that the food should not require
cookings but merely warming. The flour that we took
with us had therefore been steamed, and could, if neces-
sary, have been eaten as it was, without further prepara-
tion. Merely brought to a boil, it made a good hot
dish. We also took dried boiled potatoes, pea-soup,
chocolate, vril-food, etc. Our bread was partly careful-
ly dried wheaten biscuits, and partly aleuronate bread,
which I had caused to be made of wheat flour mixed
with about 30 per cent, of aleuronate flour (vegetable
albumen).
We also took with us a considerable quantity of
butter (86 pounds) which had been well worked on
board in order to get out all superfluous water. By
this means not only was considerable weight saved, but
the butter did not become so hard in the cold. On the
whole, it must be said that our menus included con-
siderable variety, and we were never subjected to that
sameness of food which former sledge expeditions have
complained so much of. Finally, we always had raven-
ous appetites, and always thought our meals as delicious
as they could be.
Our medicine -chest consisted, on this occasion, of a
little bag, containing, naturally, only the most absolutely
necessary drugs, etc. Some splints and some ligatures.
IV£ MAKE A START
127
and plaster- of- Paris bandages, for possible broken legs
and arms ; aperient pills and laudanum for derangements
of the stomach, which were never required ; chloroform
in case of an amputation, for example, from frost-bite ; a
couple of small glasses of cocaine in solution for snow-
blindness (also unused); drops for toothache, carbolic
acid, iodoform gauze, a couple of curved needles, and
some silk for sewing up wounds; a scalpel, two artery
tweezers (also for amputations), and a few other sundries.
Happily oiir medicines were hardly ever required, except
that the ligatures and bandages came in very handily
the following winter as wicks for our train-oil lamps.
Still better for this purpose, however, is Nicolaysen's plas-
ter, of which we had taken a supply for possible broken
collar-bones. The layer of wax we scraped carefully off
and found it most satisfactory for calking our leaky kayaks.
LIST OF THE EQUIPMENT
Sledge No. i (with Nansen's
Kayak)
Lbs.
Oz.
Kilos.
t^ayatc .....••
41
2
18.7
Pump (for pumping kayaks in case of
leakage) .......
I
2
0.5
Sail
I
9
0.7
Axe and geological hammer
I
5
0.6
Gun and case ......
7
4
3-3
Two small wooden rods belonging to cooker
0
14
0.4
Theodolite and case .....
4
13
2.2
Three reserve cross-pieces for sledges .
2
0
0.9
Some pieces of wood .....
0
II
0.3
Harpoon line ......
0
8.4
0.24
Fur gaiters ......
I
3
0-55
Five balls of cord .....
2
9
1. 17
128
FARTHEST NORTH
Sledge No. i — continued
Cooker, with two mugs, ladle, and two spoons
Petroleum lamp (Primus) .
Pocket-fiask ....
Bag. with sundry articles of clothing
Blanket .....
Jersey .....
Finn shoes filled with grass.
Cap for fitting over opening in kayak
One pair " komager "
Two pair kayak gloves and one harpoon
and line ......
One waterproof sealskin kayak overcoat
Tool-bag ......
Bag of sewing materials, including sailmak
er's palm, sail needles, and other sundries
Three Norwegian flags ....
Medicines, etc
Photographic camera ....
One aisscttc and one tin box of films .
One wooden cup
One rope (for lashing kayak to sledge).
Pieces of reindeer-skin to prevent kayaks
from chafing
Wooden shovel
Ski-stafl with disk at bottom
One bamboo staff .
Two oak staffs
Seven reserve dog harnesses and two reserve
hauling ropes
One coil of rope
Four bamboo poles for masts and for steer-
ing sledges ....
One bag of bread
•• •• whey-powder
" sugar .
•* albuminous flour
" lime-juice tablets
'* Frame-food stamina tablets
As boat's grips, under the sledges, were
Three sacks of pemmican (together)
One sack " leverpostei," or pate made of
calf's liver ....
<<
««
Lbs.
Oz.
Kilos.
8
13
4.0
o
4}
O.I
o
6
0.17
8
13
4,0
4
6
2.0
2
8
1. 15
3
I
M
o
7
0.2
2
I
0.95
I
5
0.6
3
I
1.4
2
lO
1.2
2
lO
1.2
O
4
0.1
4
'5
2.25
4
lO
2.1
3
14
1-75
o
3
0.08
2
O
09
3
15
1.8
2
3
I.O
I
9
0.7
I
o
0.45
2
lO
1.2
2
lO
1.2
O
6
0.18
8
13
4.0
5
15
2.7
3
5
1.5
2
3
1.0
I
12
0.8
I
lO
0.73
2
7
I.I
238
93 15
108.2
42.7
WE MAKE A START
129
Sledge No. 2. On this were carried, in
Albuminous flour .
Wheat flour
Whey-powder
Corn flour
Sugar
Vril-food .
Australian pemmican
Chocolate
Oatmeal .
Dried red whortleberries
Two sacks of white bread (together)
One sack of aleuronate bread
" Special food "( a mixture of pea flour, meat
powder, fat, etc.)
Butter
Fish flour (VSge's)
Dried potatoes
One reindeer-skin sleeping-bag
Two steel-wire ropes, with couples for twenty
eight dogs
One pair hickory snow-shoes
Weight of sledge
!, in strong sacks:
Lbs.
Oz.
Kilos
14
15
6.8
15
6
7.0
16
15
I'l
8
13
4.0
7
I
3-2
31
4
14.2
13
0
5.9
12
12
5.8
II
0
5.0
0
14
0.4
69
5
31.5
46
10
21.2
63
13
29.0
85
13
39.0
34
2
15.5
15
3
6.9
19
13
9.0
II
0
50
II
0
5.0
43
5
19.7
Sledge No. 3 (with Johansen's Kayak)
l^ayak .......
Two pieces of reindeer-skin, to prevent
chafing
A supply of dog-shoes .....
One Eskimo shooting - sledge with sail (in-
tended for possible seal-shooting on the ice)
Two sledge sails .....
Pump .......
Oar-blades (made of canvas stretched on
frames, and intended to be lashed to the
ski-stafls) ....
Gun ......
X^ IdSlv .....
Net (for catching Crustacea in the sea)
One pair " komager " .
II.— 9
-bs.
Oz.
Kilos.
M
6
18.8
I
12
0.8
I
3
0-55
I
10
0.73
2
10
1.2
0
14
0.4
I
2
05
7
2.7
3-26
0
5.9
0.17
0
5-2
0.15
I
»5-7
0.9
I30
FARTHEST NORTH
Sledge No. 3 — continued
Waterproof kayak overcoat of sealskin
Fur gaiters .....
Two reserve pieces of wood
Two tins of petroleum (about 5 gallons)
Several reserve snow-shoe fastenings .
Lantern for changing plates, etc.
Artificial glass horizon
Bag with cords and nautical almanac .
Pocket sextant .....
Two packets of matches
One reserve sheet of German silver (for re-
paving plates under sledge-runners)
Pitch ......
Two minimum thermometers in cases .
Three quicksilver thermometers in cases
One compass .....
One aluminium compass
•* " telescope .
" Sennegraes " or sedge for Finn shoes
Bag with cartridges ....
Leather pouch with reserve shooting requi-
sites, parts for gun-locks, reserve cocks,
balls, powder, etc. . . . . .
Leather pouch with glass bottle, one spoon,
and five pencils
Bag with navigation tables, nautical almanac
cards, etc. .....
Tin box with diaries, letters, photographs
observation-journals, etc.
One cap for covering hole in deck of kayak
One sack of meat-chocolate
One bag of soups
•* cocoa
fish flour
wheat flour
chocolate .
" " oatmeal
*' vril-food .
As grips under the sledge were :
One sack of oatmeal
pemmican .
liver p&te .
Lbs.
Oz.
Kilos
2
3
i.o
0
7.3
0.21
0
9.8
0.28
40
0.6
18.2
0
15.1
0.43
I
1.2
0.49
0
10.2
0.29
0
4.6
0.13
0
13.7
0.39
0
13.7
0-39
0
7.4
0.21
0
3-5
o.i
0
7.4
0.21
0
4.9
0.14
0
8.8
0.25
0
8.4
0.24
II
8.6
0.7
0
7
0.2
26
I
11.85
<<
4<
<«
«4
1.4
10.6 0.3
I.I
3
10
1.65
0
8
0.23
17
10
8.0
6
10
3.0
7
6
3-35
3
12
1.70
2
0
0.90
4
6
2.0
4
6
2.0
4
6
2.0
29
I
13.2
"5
I
52.3
III
12
50.8
IVJS MAKE A START
131
A list of our dogs
be of interest :
Kvik .
Freia .
Barbara
Suggen
Flint
Barrabas
Gulen
Haren
Barnet
Sultan
Klapperslangen
Blok .
Bjelki .
SjSliget
Katta .
Narrifas
Livjaegeren
Potifar
Storraeven
Isbjon
Lilleraeven
Kvindfolket
Perpetuum
Baro .
Russen
Kaifas
Ulenka
Pan .
and their weights on starting may
Lbs.
Kilos
78
35.7
50
22.7
49i
22.5
6il
28.0
59i
27.0
6ii
28.0
6oi
27.5
6ii
28.0
39
17.7
68
31.0
591
27.0
59
26.8
38
'7.3
40
18.0
451
20.7
46
21.0
381
17.5
57
26.0
70
31.8
61I
28.0
59
26.7
37
26.0
63
28.6
60I
27.5
58
26.5
69
315
57
26.0
65
29.5
CHAPTER IV
WE SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE " FRAM "
At last by midday on March 14th we finally left the
Fram to the noise of a thundering salute. For the third
time farewells and mutual good wishes were exchanged.
Some of our comrades came a little way with us, but
Sverdrup soon turned back in order to be on board for
dinner at i o'clock. It was on the top of a hummock
that we two said good-bye to each other ; the Fram
was lying behind us, and I can remember how I stood
watching him as he strode easily homeward on his
snow-shoes. I half wished I could turn back with him
and find myself again in the warm saloon ; I knew only
too well that a life of toil lay before us, and that it would
be many a long day before we should again sleep and eat
under a comfortable roof; but that that time was going
to be so long as it really proved to be, none of us then
had any idea. We all thought that either the expedi-
tion would succeed, and that we should return home that
same year, or — that it would not succeed.
A little while after Sverdrup had left us, Mogstad
also found it necessary to turn back. He had thought
HI
IV£ SAY GOODBYE TO THE '' FRAM'' 135
of going with us till the next day, but his heavy wolf-
skin trousers were, as he un-euphemistically expressed it,
"almost full of sweat, and he must go back to the fire
on board to get dry." Hansen, Henriksen, and Pettersen
were then the only ones left, and they labored along,
each with his load on his back. It was difficult for
them to keep up with us on the flat ice, so quickly did
we go; but when we came to pressure -ridges we were
brought to a standstill and the sledges had to be helped
over. At one place the ridge was so bad that we had
to carry the sledges a long way. When, after consider-
able trouble, we had managed to get over it, Peter shook
his head reflectively, and said to Johansen that we
should meet plenty more of the same kind, and have
enough hard work before we had eaten sufficient of the
loads to make the sledges run lightly. Just here we
came upon a long stretch of bad ice, and Peter became
more and more concerned for our future; but towards
evening matters improved, and we advanced more rap-
idly. When we stopped at 6 o'clock the odometer reg-
istered a good 7 miles, which was not so bad for a
first day's work. We had a cheerful evening in our
tent, which was just about big enough to hold all five.
Pettersen, who had exerted himself and become over-
heated on the way, shivered and groaned while the dogs
were being tied up and fed, and the tent pitched. He,
however, found existence considerably brighter when he
sat inside it, in his warm wolfskin clothes, with a pot
iS^ FARTHEST JTQRTH
of smoldag chocolare baoce ?t^, x b^ iTznp <]f butter
in one hand and a biscnfr fn rre ocuct. 3ad exclaimed,
** Now I am living like a pri:ice T He riereafter dis-
coursed at lenorth on the ^^-v'^r^'y rri:i-::yr:: thai he was
sitting: in a tent in the mxidle cc rie P«:iir Sea^ Poor fel-
low, he had begged and prayed ro be aZo»ed to come with
us on this expedition ; he wocid ccoc for ;:s and make
himself s^enerallv useful boch as a tfnsmirh and black-
smith : and then, he said, three would be co^npany. I re-
gretted that I could not rake more th.an one companion,
and he had been in the dei>chj> oc woe for several da\-s, but
now found comfort in the fact that he had. at anv rate,
come part of the way w::h us^ and was out en this great des-
ert sea, for, as he s>iid, •* not many people have done thaL"
The others had no sleeDinj^r-baj;!: with them, so thev
made themselves a cv>zv little hut ot snow, into which
they crawled in their wolfskin garments, and had a
ti^lorablv Wixl nivrht, I was awake earlv the next
morning: but when 1 crept out of the tent I found that
simucIkkIv else wws on his le^rs before me, and this was
IVttoi'sen, who, awakened by the cold was now walking
up aiul down to warm his stiffened limbs. He had tried
it now» he said : he never should have thought it possible
to sloep ill the snow, but it had not been half bad. He
would not ijulte admit that he had been cold, and that
tluvt was the reason why he had turned out so early.
'HuMi wo had our last pleasant breakfast together, got
the sledges ixwdy, harnessed the dogs, shook hands with
IV£ SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE ''FRAM" I39
our companions, and, without many words being uttered
on either side, started out into solitude. Peter shook his
head sorrowfully as we went off. I turned round when
we had gone some little way, and saw his figure on the
top of the hummock ; he was still looking after us. His
thoughts were probably sad ; perhaps he believed that he
had spoken to us for the last time.
We found large expanses of flat ice, and covered the
ground quickly, farther and farther away from our com-
rades, into the unknown, where we two alone and the
dogs were to wander for months. The Frants rigging
had disappeared long ago behind the margin of the ice.
We often came on piled-up ridges and uneven ice, where
the sledges had to be helped and sometimes carried over.
It often happened, too, that they capsized altogether, and
it was only by dint of strenuous hauling that we righted
them again. Somewhat exhausted by all this hard work,
we stopped finally at 6 o'clock in the evening, and had
then gone about 9 miles during the day. They were not
quite the marches I had reckoned on, but we hoped that
by degrees the sledges would become lighter and the ice
better to travel over. The latter, too, seems to have been
the case at first. On Sunday, March 17th, I say in my
diary : *' The ice appears to be more even the farther
north we get ; came across a lane, however, yesterday
which necessitated a long detour.* At half-past six we
* It was not advisable, for many reasons, to cross the lanes in the
I40 FARTHEST NORTH
had done about 9 miles. As we had just reached a good
camping -ground, and the dogs were tired, we stopped.
Lowest temperature last night, —45° Fahr. (— 42.8° C.)."
The ice continued to become more even during the
following days, and our marches often amounted to 14
miles or more in the day. Now and then a misfortune
might happen which detained us, as, for instance, one
day a sharp spike of ice which was standing up cut a
hole in a sack of fish flour, and all the delicious food ran
out. It took us more than an hour to collect it all
again and repair the damages. Then the odometer got
broken through being jammed in some uneven ice, and it
took some hours to mend it by a process of lashing.
But on we went northward, often over great, wide ice-
plains which seemed as if they must stretch right to the
Pole. Sometimes it happened that we passed through
places where the ice was " unusually massive, with high
hummocks, so that it looked like undulating country
covered with snow.*' This was undoubtedly very old
ice, which had drifted in the Polar Sea for a long time on
its way from the Siberian Sea to the east coast of Green-
land, and which had been subjected year after year to
severe pressure. High hummocks and mounds are thus
formed, which summer after summer are partially melted
kayaks, now that the temperature was so low. Kven if the water in them
had not nearly always been covered with a more or less thick layer of ice,
the kayaks would have become much heavier from the immediate freezing
of the water which would have entered, as they proved to be not absolute-
ly impervious; and this ice we had then no means of dislodging.
IVJS SAY GOODBYE TO THE 'TRAM'' 141
by the rays of the sun, and again in the winters covered
with great drifts of snow, so that they assume forms
which resemble ice-hills rather than piles of sea-ice result-
ing from upheaval.
Wednesday, March 20th, my diary says : " Beautiful
weather for travelling in, with fine sunsets ; but somewhat
cold, particularly in the bag, at nights (it was -41.8° and
—43.6° Fahn, or —41° and —42° C). The ice appears to
be getting more even the farther we advance, and in some
places it is like travelling over * inland ice/ If this goes
on the whole thing will be done in no time." That day
we lost our odometer, and as we did not find it out till
some time afterwards, and I did not know how far we
might have to go back, I thought it was not worth while
to return and look for. It was the cause, however, of our
only being able subsequently to guess approximately at
the distance we had gone during the day. We had
another mishap, too, that day. This was that one of the
dogs (it was " Livjaegeren") had become so ill that he
could not be driven any longer, and we had to let him go
loose. It was late in the day before we discovered that
he was not with us ; he had stopped behind at our camp-
ing-ground when we broke up in the morning, and I had
to go back after him on snow-shoes, which caused a long
delay.
"Thursday, March 21st. Nine in the morning, —43.6°
Fahr., or —42° C. (Minimum in the night, —47.2° Fahr.,
or —44° C.) Clear, as it has been every day. Beautiful,
142 FARTHEST NORTH
bright weather ; glorious for travelling in, but somewhat
cold at nights, with the quicksilver continually frozen.
Patching Finn shoes in this temperature inside the tent,
with one s nose slowly freezing away, is not all pure en-
joyment.
"Friday, March 22d. Splendid ice for getting over;
things go better and better. Wide expanses, with a few
pressure- ridges now and then, but passable everywhere.
Kept at it yesterday from about half -past eleven in
the morning to half-past eight at night; did a good 21
miles, I hope. We should be in latitude 85°. The
only disagreeable thing about it now is the cold. Our
clothes are transformed more and more into a cuirass of
ice during the day, and wet bandages at night. The
blankets likewise. The sleeping-bag gets heavier and
heavier from the moisture which freezes on the hair
inside. The same clear, settled weather every day. We
are both longing now for a change ; a few clouds and a
little more mildness would be welcome." The tempera-
ture in the night, —44.8° Fahr. (—42.7° C). By an
observation which I took later in the forenoon, our
latitude that day proved to be 85° 9' N.
"Saturday, March 23d. On account of observation,
lashing the loads on the sledges, patching bags, and
other occupations of a like kind, which are no joke in
this low temperature, we did not manage to get off yes-
terday before 3 o'clock in the afternoon. We stuck to it
till nine in the evening, when we stopped in some of the
WE SAY GOODBYE TO THE '' FRAM'' 143
worst ice we have seen lately. Our day's march, how-
ever, had lain across several large tracts of level ice, so I
think that we made 14 miles or so all the same. We
have the same brilliant sunshine; but yesterday after-
noon the wind from the northeast, which we have had
for the last few days, increased, and made it rather raw.
" We passed over a large frozen pool yesterday even-
ing; it looked almost like a large lake." It could not
have been long since this was formed, as the ice on it
was still quite thin. It is wonderful that these pools can
form up there at that time of the year.
From this time forward there was an end of the flat
ice, which it had been simple enjoyment to travel over ;
and now we had often great difficulties to cope with.
On Sunday, March 24th, I write : " Ice not so good ;
yesterday was a hard day, but we made a few miles — not
more, though, than seven, I am afraid. This continual
lifting of the heavily loaded sledges is calculated to break
one's back ; but better times are coming, perhaps. The
cold is also appreciable, always the same ; but yesterday
it was increased by the admixture of considerable wind
from the northeast. We halted about half-past nine in
the evening. It is perceptible how the days lengthen,
and how much later the sun sets ; in a few days' time we
shall have the midnight sun.
" We killed *Livjaegeren ' yesterday evening, and hard
work it was skinning him." This was the first dog
which had to be killed ; but many came afterwards, and
144 FARTHEST NORTH
it was some of the most disagreeable work we had on
the journey, particularly now at the beginning, when it
was so cold. When this first dog was dismembered and
given to the others, many of them went supperless the
whole night in preference to touching the meat. But as
the days went by and they became more worn out, they
learned to appreciate dog's flesh, and later we were not
even so considerate as to skin the butchered animal, but
served it hair and all.
The following day the ice was occasionally somewhat
better ; but as a rule it was bad, and we became more
and more worn out with the never-ending work of help-
ing the dogs, righting the sledges every time they cap-
sized, and hauling them, or carrying them bodily, over
hummocks and inequalities of the ground. Sometimes
we were so sleepy in the evenings that our eyes shut and
we fell asleep as we went along. My head would drop,
and I would be awakened by suddenly falling forward
on my snow-shoes. Then we would stop, after having
found a camping-ground behind a hummock or ridge of
ice, where there was some shelter from the wind. While
Johansen looked after the dogs, it generally fell to my lot
to pitch the tent, fill* the cooker with ice, light the burner,
and start the supper as quickly as possible. This gener-
ally consisted of " lobscouse " one day, made of pemmi-
can and dried potatoes; another day of a sort of fish ris-
sole substance known as " fiskcgratin " in Norway, and in
this case composed of fish - meal, flour, and butter. A
WE SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE '' FRAM' 145
third day it would be pea, bean, or lentil soup, with bread
and pemmican. Johansen preferred the ** lobscouse,"
while I had a weakness for the " fiskegratin." As time
went by, however, he came over to my way of thinking,
and the ** fiskegratin '' took precedence of everything
else.
As soon as Johansen had finished with the dogs, and
the different receptacles containing the ingredients and
eatables for breakfast and supper had been brought in, as
well as our bags with private necessities, the sleeping-bags
were spread out, the tent door carefully shut, and we
crept into the bag to thaw our clothes. This was not
very agreeable work. During the course of the day the
damp exhalations of the body had little by little become
condensed in our outer garments, which were now a mass
of ice and transformed into complete suits of ice-armor.
They were so hard and stiff that if we had only been
able to get them off they could have stood by themselves,
and they crackled audibly every time we moved. These
clothes were so stiff that the arm of my coat actually
rubbed deep sores in my wrists during our marches ; one
of these sores — the one on the right hand — got frost-
bitten, the wound grew deeper and deeper, and nearly
reached the bone. I tried to protect it with bandages,
but not until late in the summer did it heal, and I shall
probably have the scar for life. When we got into our
sleeping-bags in the evening our clothes began to thaw
slowly, and on this process a considerable amount of
II.— lO
146 FARTHEST NORTH
physical heat was expended. We packed ourselves tight
into the bag, and lay with our teeth chattering for an
hour, or an hour and a half, before we became aware of a
little of the warmth in our bodies which we so sorely
needed. At last our clothes became wet and pliant, only
to freeze again a few minutes after we had turned out of
the bag in the morning. There was no question of get-
ting these clothes dried on the journey so long as the
cold lasted, as more and more moisture from the body
collected in them.
How cold we were as we lay there shivering in the
bag, waiting for the supper to be ready ! I, who was
cook, was obliged to keep myself more or less awake to
see to the culinary operations, and sometimes I succeeded.
At last the supper was ready, was portioned out, and,
as always, tasted delicious. These occasions were the su-
preme moments of our existence — moments to which we
looked forward the whole day long. But sometimes we
were so weary that our eyes closed, and we fell asleep
with the food on its way to our mouths. Our hands
would fall back inanimate with the spoons in them and
the food fly out on the bag. After supper we generally
permitted ourselves the luxury of a little extra drink,
consisting of water, as hot as we could swallow it, in
which whey-powder had been dissolved. It tasted some-
thing like boiled milk, and we thought it wonderfully
comforting; it seemed to warm us to the very ends of
our toes. Then we would creep down into the bag
WE SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE 'TRAM'' 147
again, buckle the flap carefully over our heads, lie close
together, and soon sleep the sleep of the just. But even
in our dreams we went on ceaselessly, grinding at the
sledges and driving the dogs, always northward, and I
was often awakened by hearing Johansen calling in his
sleep to " Pan," or " Barrabas,** or " Klapperslangen " :
"Get on, you devil, you! Go on, you brutes! Sass,
sass!* Now the whole thing is going over!" and ex-
ecrations less fit for reproduction, until I went to sleep
again.
In the morning I, as cook, was obliged to turn out to
prepare the breakfast, which took an hour's time. As a
rule, it consisted one morning of chocolate, bread, butter,
and pemmican ; another of oatmeal porridge, or a com-
pound of flour, water, and butter, in imitation of our
" butter- porridge " at home. This was washed down
with milk, made of whey - powder and water. The
breakfast ready, Johansen was roused ; we sat up in
the sleeping-bag, one of the blankets was spread out as
a table-cloth, and we fell to work. We had a com-
fortable breakfast, wrote up our diaries, and then had to
think abou*t starting. But how tired we sometimes were,
and how often would I not have given anything to be
able to creep to the bottom of the bag again and
sleep the clock round. It seemed to me as if this
must be the greatest pleasure in life, but our business
* Used by the Lapps to their dog. — Trans,
I4« FARTHEST NORTH
was to fight our way northward — always northward.
We performed our toilets, and then came the going
out into the cold to get the sledges ready, disentangle the
dogs' traces, harness the animals, and get off as quickly
as possible. I went first to find the way through the
uneven ice, then came the sledge with my kayak. The
dogs soon learned to follow, but at every unevenness of
the ground they stopped, and if one could not get them
all to start again at the same time by a shout, and so pull
the sledge over the difficulty, one had to go back to
beat or help them, according as circumstances neces-
sitated. Then came Johansen with the two other sledges,
always shouting to the dogs to pull harder, always
beating them, and himself hauling to get the sledges
over the terrible ridges of ice. It was undeniable
cruelty to the poor animals from first to last, and one
must often look back on it with horror. It makes me
shudder even now when I think of how we beat them
mercilessly with thick ash sticks when, hardly able to
move, they stopped from sheer exhaustion. It made
one's heart bleed to see them, but we turned our eyes
away and hardened ourselves. It was necessary; for-
ward we must go, and to this end everything else must
give place. It is the sad part of expeditions of this kind
that one s\-steniatically kills all better feelings, until only
hard-hearted egoism remains. When I think of all those
splendid animals, toiling for us without a murmur, as
long as they could strain a muscle, never getting any
ivjs sav goodbye to the ''fram'' 149
thanks or even so much as a kind word, daily writhing
under the lash until the time came when they could do
no more and death freed them from their pangs — when
I think of how they were left behind, one by one, up
there on those desolate ice-fields, which had been witness
to their faithfulness and devotion, I have moments of
bitter self-reproach. It took us two alone such a long
time to pitch the tent, feed the dogs, cook, etc., in the
evening, and then break up again and get ready in the
morning, that the days never seemed long enough if we
were to do proper day s marches, and, besides, get the
sleep we required at night. But when the nights became
so light, it was not so necessary to keep regular hours
any longer, and we started when we pleased, whether it
was night or day. We stopped, too, when it suited us,
and took the sleep which might be necessary for our-
selves and the dogs. I tried to make it a rule that our
marches were to be of nine or ten hours* duration. In
the middle of the day we generally had a rest and
something to eat — as a rule, bread-and-butter, with a
little pemmican or liver pate. These dinners were a
bitter trial. We use to try and find a good sheltered
place, and sometimes even rolled ourselves up in our
blankets, but all the same the wind cut right through us
as we sat on the sledges eating our meal. Sometimes,
again, we spread the sleeping-bag out on the ice, took
our food with us, and crept well in, but even then did
not succeed in thawing either it or our clothes. When
1 50 FARTHEST NORTH
this was too much for us we walked up and down to
keep ourselves warm, and ate our food as we walked.
Then came the no less bitter task of disentangling the
dogs' traces, and we were glad when we could get oflF
again. In the afternoon, as a rule, we each had a piece
of meat-chocolate.
Most Arctic travellers who have gone sledge journeys
have complained of the so-called Arctic thirst, and it has
been considered an almost unavoidable evil in connection
with a long journey across wastes of snow. It is often
increased, too, by the eating of snow. I had prepared
myself for this thirst, from which we had also suffered
severely when crossing Greenland, and had taken with
me a couple of india-rubber flasks, which we filled with
water every morning from the cooker, and which by
carrying in the breast could be protected from the cold.
To my great astonishment, however, I soon discovered
that the whole day would often pass by without my as
much as tasting the water in my flask. As time went by,
the less need did I feel to drink during the day, and at last
I gave up taking water with me altogether. If a passing
feeling of thirst made itself felt, a piece of fresh ice, of
which, as a rule, there was always some to be found, was
sufficient to dispel it* The reason why we were spared
♦ Whereas eating snow may increase the above-mentioned feeling of
thirst, and have disagreeable consequences in other ways» sucking a piece
of ice, which will soon quench it, may safely be resorted to, particularly if
it be held in the hand a little while before putting it in the mouth. Many
travellers have, no doubt, had the same experience.
fr£ SjiV GOOD-BYB TO THE *^FI(AM^ iS^
this su£Fering, which has been one of the greatest hard-
ships of many sledge expeditions^ must be attributed in a
great measure to our admirable cooking apparatus* By
the help of this we were able, with the consumption of a
minimum of fuel, to melt and boil so much water every
morning that we could drink all we wished. There was
even some left over, as a rule, which had to be thrown
away. The same thing was generally the case in the
evening.
" Friday, March 29th. We are grinding on, but very
slowly. The ice is only tolerable, and not what I ex-
pected from the beginning. There are often great
ridges of piled-up ice of dismal aspect, which take up a
great deal of time, as one must go on ahead to find a
way, and, as a rule, make a greater or less detour to get
over them. In addition, the dogs are growing rather
slow and slack, and it is almost impossible to get them
on. And then this endless disentangling of the hauling-
ropes, with their infernal twists and knots, which get
worse and worse to undo ! The dogs jump over and in
between one another incessantly, and no sooner has one
carefully cleared the hauling-ropes than they are twisted
into a veritable skein again. Then one of the sledges is
stopped by a block of ice. The dogs howl impatiently
to follow their companions in front; then one bites
through a trace and starts off on his own account, per-
haps followed by one or two others, and these must be
caught and the traces knotted ; there is no time to splice
1 5 2 FARTHEST XORTH
them properly, nor would it be a very congenial task in
this colcL So we go on when the ice is uneven, and
ever}' hour and a half, at least have to stop and disen-
tangle the traces.
^ We started yesterday about half -past eight in the
morning, and stopped about five in the afternoon. After
dinner the northeasterlv wind, which we have had the
whole time, suddenly became stronger, and the sky over-
cast We welcomed it with joy. for we saw in it the sign
of a probable change of weather and an end to this per-
f/ctual cold and brightness. I do not think we deceived
ourselves either. Yesterday evening the temperature
had risen to —29.2' Fahr. ^ — 34' C), and we had the best
night in the bag we have had for a long time. Just
now, as I am getting the breakfast ready, I see that it
is dear again, and the sun is shining through the
tent wall.
** The ice we are now travelling over seems, on the
whole, to be old ; but sometimes we come across tracts,
of considerable width, of uneven new ice, which must
have been pressed up a considerable time. I cannot
account for it in any other way than by supposing
it to be ice from great open pools which must have
formed here at one time. We have traversed pools of
this descrij)tion, with level ice on them, several times."
That day I took a meridian observation, which, however,
did not make us farther north than ^^^^ 30'. I could not
understand this; thought that we must be in latitude
WE SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE '' FRAM '' 153
86°, and, therefore, supposed there must be something
wrong with the observation.
" Saturday, March 30th. Yesterday was Tycho
Brahe's day. At first we found much uneven ice, and
had to strike a devious route to get through it, so that
our day's march did not amount to much, although we
kept at it a long time. At the end of it, however, and
after considerable toil, we found ourselves on splendid
flat ice, more level than it had been for a long time.
At last, then, we had come on some more of the good
old kind, and could not complain of some rubble and
snow-drifts here and there; but then we were stopped
by some ugly pressure-ridges of the worst kind, formed
by the packing of enormous blocks. The last ridge
was the worst of all, and before it yawned a crack in the
thick ice about 12 feet deep. When the first sledge
was going over all the dogs fell in and had to be hauled
up again. One of them — * Klapperslangen' — slipped
his harness and ran away. As the next sledge was
going over it fell in bodily, but happily was not smashed
to atoms, as it might have been. We had to unload it
entirely in order to get it up again, and then reload, all
of which took up a great deal of time. Then, too, the
dogs had to be thrown down and dragged up on the
other side. With the third sledge we managed better,
and after we had gone a little way farther the runaway
dog came back. At last we reached a camping-ground,
pitched our tent, and found that the thermometer showed
154 FARTHEST NORTH
—45.4' Fahr. (—43° C,). Disentangling dog-traces in this
temperature with one's bare, frost-bitten, almost skinless
hands is desperate work. But finally we were in our
dear bag, with the 'Primus' singing cozily, when, to
A NIGHT CAMP ON THE JOURNEY NORTH
crown our misfortunes, I discovered that it would not
burn. I examined it everywhere, but could find noth-
ing wrong. Johansen had to turn out and go and fetch
the tools and a reserve burner while I studied the
WE SAY GOOD-BYE TO THE '' FRAW I5S
cooker. At last I discovered that some ice had got in
under the lid, and this had caused a leakage. Finally
we got it to light, and at 5 o'clock in the morning the
pea-soup was ready, and very good it was. At three in
the afternoon I was up again cooking. Thank Heaven,
it is warm and comfortable in the bag, or this sort of
life would be intolerable !
"Sunday, March 31st. Yesterday, at last, came the
long-wished-for change of weather, with southerly wind
and rising temperature. Early this morning the ther-
mometer showed —22° Fahr. ( — 30° C), regular summer
weather, in fact. It was, therefore, with lightened hearts
that we set off over good ice and with the wind at our
backs. On we went at a very fair pace, and everything
was going well, when a lane suddenly opened just in
front of the first sledge. We managed to get this over
by the skin of our teeth; but just as we were going
to cross the lane again after the other sledges, a large
piece of ice broke under Johansen, and he fell in, wet-
ting both legs — a deplorable incident. While the lane
was gradually opening more and more, I went up and
down it to find a way over, but without success. Here
we were, with one man and a sledge on one side, two
sledges and a wet man on the other, with an ever-widen-
ing lane between. The kayaks could not be launched,
as, through the frequent capsizing of the sledges, they
had got holes in them, and for the time being were use-
less. This was a cheerful prospect for the night, I on
IS6
FARTHEST NORTH
one side with the tent, Johansen, probably frozen stiff,
on the other. At last, after a long detour, I found a
way over; and the sledges were conveyed across. It
was out of the question, however, to attempt to go on,
as Johansen's nether extremities were a mass of ice and
his overalls so torn that extensive repairs were neces-
sary."
CHAPTER V
A HARD STRUGGLE
" Tuesday, April 3d. There are many different kinds
of difficulty to overcome on this journey, but the worst
of all, perhaps, is getting all the trifles done and start-
ing off. In spite of my being up by 7 o clock on Mon-
day evening to do the cooking, it was nearly two this
morning before we got clear of our camping -ground.
The load on Johansen's sledge had to be relashed, as
the contents of one grip had been eaten up, and we
had to put a sack of bread in its place. Another grip
had to be sewed together, as it was dripping pemmican.
Then the sledge from which the bread -sack had been
taken had to be lashed secure again, and while we had
the ropes undone it was just as well to get out a supply
of potatoes.* During this operation we discovered that
there was a hole in the fish - flour sack, which we tied
up, but no sooner had we done so than we found
♦ We always kept a supply of our various provisions in small bags inside
the kayaks, so that we could get out whatever we wanted for our daily
consumption without undoing the big sacks, which were sewed up or
securely fastened in other ways.
158 FARTHEST NORTH
another large one which required sewing. When we
came to pack the potato -sack, this too had a hole
in it, which we tied up, and so on. Then the dogs'
traces had to be disentangled ; the whole thing was in an
inextricable muddle, and the knots and twists in the icy,
frozen rope got worse and worse to deal with. Johansen
made haste and patched his trousers before breakfast.
The south wind had become what on board the Fram we
should have called a * mill breeze ' (ix,, 19 to 23 feet in the
second); and, with this at our back, we started off in
driving snow. Everything went splendidly at first, but
then came one pressure-ridge after another, and each one
was worse than the last. We had a long halt for dinner
at eight or nine in the morning, after having chosen our-
selves a sheltered place in the lee of a ridge. We
spread out the sleeping-bag, crept down into it with our
food, and so tired was I that I went to sleep with it
in my hand. I dreamed I was in Norway, and on a
visit to some people I had only seen once in my life
before. It was Christmas -day, and I was shown into a
great empty room, where we were intended to dine. It
was very cold in it, and I shivered, but there were
already some hot dishes steaming on the table, and a
beautiful fat goose. How unspeakably did I look for-
ward to that goose ! Then some other visitors began to
arrive ; I could see them through the window, and was
just going out to meet them when I stumbled into deep
snow. How it all happened, in the middle of the dining-
A HARD STRUGGLE l6i
room floor, I know not. The host laughed in an amused
way, and — I woke up and found myself shivering in a
sleeping-bag on the drift-ice in the far north. Oh, how
miserable I felt ! We got up, packed our things silently
together, and started off. Not until 4 o'clock that
afternoon did we stop, but everything was dull and
cheerless, and it was long before I got over my dis-
appointment. What would I not have given for that
dinner, or for one hour in the room, cold as it was!
" The ridges and the lanes which had frozen together
again, with rubble on either side, became worse and
worse. Making one's way through these new ridges is
desperate work. One cannot use snow-shoes, as there is
too little snow between the piled-up blocks of ice, and one
must wade along without them. It is also impossible
to see anything in this thick weather — everything is
white — irregularities and holes ; and the spaces between
the blocks are covered with a thin, deceptive layer of
snow, w^hich lets one crashing through into cracks and
pitfalls, so that one is lucky to get off without a broken
leg. It is necessary to go long distances on ahead in
order to find a way; sometimes one must search in one
direction, sometimes in another, and then back again
to fetch the sledges, with the result that the same ground
is gone over many times. Yesterday, when we stopped,
I really was done. The worst of it all, though, was that
when we finally came to a standstill we had been on
the move so long that it was too late to wind up our
II.— II
1 62 FARTHEST NORTH
watches. Johansen's had stopped altogether; mine was
ticking, and happily still going when I wound it up, so
I hope that it is all right. Twelve midday, —24.6° Fahr.
(—31.5° C). Clear weather, southeasterly wind (13 feet
in the second).
" The ice seems to be getting worse and worse, and
I am beginning to have doubts as to the wisdom of keep-
ing northward too long.
"Wednesday, April 3d. Got under way yesterday
about three in the afternoon. The snow was in first-
rate condition after the southeast wind, which continued
blowing till late in the day. The ice was tolerably
passable, and everything looked more promising; the
weather was fine, and we made good progress. But
after several level tracts with old humpy ice came some
very uneven ones, intersected by lanes and pressure-
ridges as usual. Matters did not grow any better
as time went on, and at midnight or soon after we
were stopped by some bad ice and a newly frozen lane
which would not bear. As we should have had to
make a long detour, we encamped, and * Russen ' was
killed (this was the second dog to go). The meat was
divided into 26 portions, but 8 dogs refused it, and
had to be given pemmican. The ice ahead does not
look inviting. These ridges are enough to make one
despair, and there seems to be no prospect of things
bettering. I turned out at midday and took a meridian
observation, which makes us in 85"* 59' N. It is aston-
NOTHING BUT ICE, ICE TO THE HORIZON. APRIL 7, 1895
A HARD STRUGGLE 163
ishing that we have not got farther ; we seem to toil all
we can, but without much progress. Beginning to doubt
seriously of the advisability of continuing northward
much longer. It is three times as far to Franz Josef
Land as the distance we have now come. How may the
ice be in that direction ? We can hardly count on its
being better than here, or our progress quicker. Then,
too, the shape and extent of Franz Josef Land are un-
known, and may cause us considerable delay, and per-
haps we shall not be able to find any game just at once.
I have long seen that it is impossible to reach the Pole
itself or its immediate vicinity over such ice as this and
with these dogs. If only we had more of them ! What
would I not give now to have the Olenek dogs.^ We
must turn, sooner or later. But as it is only a question
of time, could we not turn it to better account in Franz
Josef Land than by travelling over this drift-ice, which
we have now had a good opportunity of learning to
know.'^ In all probability it will be exactly the same
right to the Pole. We cannot hope to reach any con-
siderable distance higher before time compels us to turn.
We certainly ought not to wait much longer. Twelve
midday, —20.8° Fahr. (-29.4° C), clear weather, 3 feet
wind from east ; twelve midnight, —29.2° Fahr. (—34° C),
clear and still.'*
It became more and more of a riddle to me that we
did not make greater progress northward. I kept on
calculating and adding up our marches as we went along,
1 64 FARTHEST NORTH
but always with the same result ; that is to say, provided
only the ice were still, we must be far above the eighty-
sixth parallel. It was becoming only too clear to me,
however, that the ice was moving southward, and that in
its capricious drift, at the mercy of wind and current, we
had our worst enemy to combat.
" Friday, April 5th. Began our march at three yes-
terday morning. The ice, however, was bad, with lanes
and ridges, so that our progress was but little. These
lanes, with rubble thrown up on each side, are our
despair. It is like driving over a tract of rocks, and
delays us terribly. First I must go on ahead to find a
way, and then get my sledge through ; then, perhaps, by
way of a change, one falls into the water ; yesterday, I
fell through twice. If I work hard in finding a way and
guiding my sledge over rough places, Johansen is no
better off, with his two sledges to look after. It is a
tough job to get even one of them over the rubble, to
say nothing of the ridges ; but he is a plucky fellow, and
no mistake, and never gives in. Yesterday he fell into
the water again in crossing a lane, and got wet up to his
knees. I had gone over on my snow-shoes shortly before
and did not notice that the ice was weak. He came
afterwards without snow-shoes, walking beside one of the
sledges, when suddenly the ice gave, and he fell through.
Happily he managed to catch hold of the sledge, and the
dogs, which did not stop, pulled him up again. These
baths are not an unmixed pleasure, now that there is no
^
A HARD STRUGGLE 167
possibility of drying or changing one's clothes, and one
must wear a chain mail of ice until they thaw and dry on
the body, which takes some time in this temperature. I
took an observation for longitude and a magnetic obser-
vation yesterday morning, and have spent the whole fore-
noon to-day in calculations (inside the bag) to find out
our exact position. I find our latitude yesterday was
86° 2.8' N. This is very little, but what can we do when
the ice is what it is? And these dogs cannot work
harder than they do, poor things. I sigh for the sledge-
dogs from the Olenek daily now. The longitude for yes-
terday was 98° 47.15", variation 44.4°.
" I begin to think more and more that we ought to
turn back before the time we originally fixed.* It is
probably 350 miles or so to Petermann's Land (in point
of fact it was about 450 miles to Cape Fligely) ; but it
will probably take us all we know to get over them.
The question resolves itself into this : Ought we not, at
any rate, to reach 87° N. t But I doubt whether we can
manage it if the ice does not improve.
"Saturday, April 6th. Two a.m., —11.4° Fahr.
(—24.2° C). The ice grew worse and worse. Yester-
day it brought me to the verge of despair, and when we
stopped this morning I had almost decided to turn back.
I will go on one day longer, however, to see if the ice is
really as bad farther northward as it appears to be from
* When I left the ship I had purposed to travel northward for 50 days,
for which time we had taken provender for the dogs.
1 68 FARTHEST NORTH
the ridge, 30 feet in height, where we are encamped. We
hardly made 4 miles yesterday. Lanes, ridges, and end-
less rough ice, it looks like an endless moraine of ice-
blocks; and this continual lifting of the sledges over
every irregularity is enough to tire out giants. Curious
this rubble-ice. For the most part it is not so very mas-
sive, and seems as if it had been forced up somewhat
recently, for it is incompletely covered with thin, loose
snow, through which one falls suddenly up to one's mid-
dle. And thus it extends mile after mile northward,
while every now and then there are old floes, with
mounds that have been rounded off by the action of the
sun in the summer — often very massive ice.
" I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that we are
not doing any good here. We shall not be able to get
much farther north, and it will be slow work indeed if
there be much more of this sort of ice towards Franz
Josef Land. On the other hand, we should be able to
make much better use of our time there, if we should
have any over. 8.30 p.m., -29.2° Fahr. (-34° C).
" Monday, April 8th. No ; the ice grew worse and
worse, and we got no way. Ridge after ridge, and
nothing but rubble to travel over. We made a start
at 2 o'clock or so this morning, and kept at it as long
as we could, lifting the sledges all the time ; but it grew
too bad at last. I went on a good way ahead on snow-
shoes, but saw no reasonable prospect of advance, and
from the highest hummocks only the same kind of ice
A HARD STRUGGLE
" I WENT ON AHEAD ON SNOW-SHOES
was to be seen. It was a veritable chaos of ice-blocks,
stretching as far as the horizon. There is not much
sense in keeping on longer; we are sacrificing valuable
time and doing little. If there be much more such ice
between here and Franz Josef Land, we shall, indeed,
want all the time we have.
I70 FARTHEST NORTH
" I therefore determined to stop, and shape our course
for Cape FHgely.
" On this northernmost camping-ground we indulged
in a banquet, consisting of lobscouse, bread-and-butter,
dry chocolate, stewed * tytlebaer,' or red whortleberries,
and our hot whey drink, and then, with a delightful and
unfamiliar feeling of repletion, crept into the dear bag,
our best friend. I took a meridian observation yes-
terday, by which I see that we should be in latitude
86° lo' N., or thereabouts.* This morning I took an
observation for longitude. At 8.30 a.m., —25.6° Fahr.
(-32° C).
" Tuesday, April 9th. Yesterday's was our first march
homeward. We expected the same impracticable ice,
but, to our amazement, had not gone far before we came
on tolerably good ground, which. improved steadily, and,
with only a few stoppages, we kept at it till this morning.
We came upon ridges, to be sure, but they always al-
lowed themselves to be negotiated pretty easily, and we
did well. Started yesterday about two in the afternoon,
and kept going until one this morning.
" Thursday, April nth. Better and better.' Found
nothing but beautiful level tracks of ice yesterday, with a
few ridges, which were easy to get over, and some lanes,
with young ice on, which gave us rather more trouble.
* This was the latitude I got by a rough estimation, but on further
calculation it proved to be 86^ 13.6' N.; the longitude was about
95° E.
A HARD STRUGGLE 1 7'
They ran, however, about in our direction (our course is
now the magnetic S. 22° W., or about the true W.S.W.),
and we could go alongside them. At last, however, we
had to make a crossing, and accomplished it successfully,
although the ice bent under us and our sledges more than
was desirable. Late in the afternoon we came across a
"ON TOLERABLY GOOD GROUND
channel, which we proposed to cross in the same way.
We reached the other side with the first sledge safely
enough, but not so with the other. Hardly had the
leaders of the team got out to the dangerous place where
the ice was thinnest, and where some water had come up
on to it, when they stopped and warily dipped their paws
in the water. Then through went one of them, splashing
and struggling to get out. The ice began to sink under
172 FARTHEST NORTH
the weight of the other dogs and the sledge, and the
water came flowing up. I dragged dogs and sledge back
as quickly as possible, and succeeded in driving them all
on to the firm ice again in safety. We tried once again
at another place, I running over first on snow-shoes and
calling to the dogs, and Johansen pushing behind, but
the result was no better than the first time, as *Suggen'
fell in, and we had to go back. Only after a long detour,
and very much fagged, did we finally succeed in getting
the last two sledges over. We were lucky in finding
a good camping-place, and had the warmest night and
the most comfortable (I might almost say cozy) morn-
ing— spent, be it said, in repairs — that we have had on
the trip. I think we did the longest day s march yester-
day that we have yet achieved — about 15 miles. Two in
the afternoon, —17.6° Fahr. (—27.6° C).
" Saturday, April 13th. We have traversed nothing
but good ice for three days. If this goes on, the
return journey will be quicker than I thought. I do
not understand this sudden change in the nature of the
ice. Can it be that we are travelling in the same di-
rection with the trend of the ridges and irregularities,
so that now we go along between them instead of
having to make our way over them } The lanes we
have come across seem all to point to this ; they follow
our course pretty closely. We had the misfortune yester-
day to let our watches run down ; the time between
our getting into the bag on the previous night and en-
A HARD STRUGGLE 175
camping yesterday was too long. Of course we wound
them up again, but the only thing I can now do to find
Greenwich mean time is take a time-observation and an
observation for latitude, and then estimate the approxi-
mate distance from our turning-point on April 8th, when
I took the last observation for longitude. By this means
the error will hardly be great.
" I conclude that we have not gone less than 14 miles
a day on an average the last three days, and have
consequently advanced 40 or more miles in a direction
S. 22"" W. (magnetic). When we stopped here yesterday
* Barbara ' was killed. These slaughterings are not very
pleasant episodes. Clear weather; at 6.30 this morning
— 22° Fahr. ( — 30° C.) ; wind south (6 to 9 feet).
"April 14th. Easter-day. We were unfortunate with
lanes yesterday, and they forced us considerably out of
our course. We were stopped at last by a particularly
awkward one, and after I had gone alongside it to find a
crossing for some distance without success, I thought we
had better, in the circumstances, pitch our tent and have
a festive Easter-eve. In addition, I wished to reckon out
our latitude, longitude, our observation for time, and our
variation ; it was a question of getting the right time
again as quickly as possible. The tent up, and Johansen
attending to the dogs, I crept into the bag; but lying
thawing in this frozen receptacle, with frozen clothes
and shoes, and simultaneously working out an observa-
tion and looking up logarithms, with tender, frost-bitten
176 FARTHEST NORTH
fingers, is not pleasurable, even if the temperature be
only —22° Fahr. It is slow work, and Easter-day has
had to be devoted to the rest of the calculation, so that
we shall not get off before this evening. Meanwhile
we had a festive Easter-eve and regaled ourselves with
the following delicacies: hot whey and water, fish an
gratiuy stewed red whortleberries, and lime-juice grog
{t.e., lime-juice tablets and a little sugar dissolved in hot
water). Simply a splendid dinner; and, having feasted
our fill, we at last, at 2 o'clock, crept in under the cover.
" I have calculated our previous latitudes and longi-
tudes over again to see if I can discover any mistake
in them. I find that we should yesterday have come
farther south than 86° 5.3' N.; but, according to our
reckoning, assuming that we covered 50 miles during
the three days, we should have come down to 85 de-
grees and 50 odd minutes. I cannot explain it in
any other manner than by the surmise that we have
been drifting rapidly northward, which is very good
for the Fram, but less so for us. The wind has been
southerly the last few days. I assume that we are now in
longitude 86° E., and have reckoned the present reading
of our watches accordingly.* The variation here I find
* I felt convinced we could not have reached such a westerly longitude^
but assumed this for the sake of certainty, as I would rather come down
on the east side of Franz Josef Land than on the west side. Should we
reach the latitude of Petermann's Land or Prince Rudolf Land without see-
ing them, I should in the former case be certain that we had them on our
west, and could then look for them in that direction, whereas, in the event
I I •
'Jl
A HARD STRUGGLE 17 7
to be 42.5°. Yesterday we steered S. 10° W. (magnetic);
to-day I will keep S. 5° W., and to-morrow due south.
By way of a change to-day the sky has been overcast;
but this evening, when we partook of our second break-
fast, the sun was shining cheerily in through the tent-
wall. Johansen has patched clothes to-day, while I have
made calculations and pricked out the courses. So mild
and balmy it has not been before. 10 p. m. —14° Fahr.
(-25.6° C).
*' Tuesday, April 16th. As we were about to start off
at I o'clock yesterday morning, 'Baro ' sneaked away be-
fore we could harness him ; he had seen a couple of the
other dogs being put to, and knew what was coming. As
I did not wish to lose the dog — he was the best I had in
my team — this caused some delay. I called and called,
and went peering round the hummocks in search of him,
but saw nothing, only the ice-pack, ridge upon ridge dis-
appearing towards the horizon, and farthest north the
midnight sun shining over all. The world of ice was
dreaming in the bright, cool morning light. We had to
leave without the dog, but, to my great delight, I soon
caught sight of him far behind us in our wake ; I thought
I had seen his good face for the last time. He was evi-
dently ashamed of himself, and came and stood quite still,
looking up at me imploringly when I took him and har-
of our not finding land and being uncertain whether we were too far east
or too far west, we should not then know in what direction we ought to
look for it.
11.— 12
178 FARTHEST NORTH
nessed him. I had meant to whip the dog, but his eyes
disarmed me.
" We found good passable ice, if not always quite flat,
and made satisfactory progress. Some ridges, however,
forced us west of our course. Later on in the morning I
discovered that I had left my compass behind at some
place or other where I had had it out to take our bearings.
It could not be dispensed with, so I had to return and look
for it. I found it, too, but it was a hard pull-back, and
on the way I was inconvenienced for the first time by
the heat; the sun scorched quite unpleasantly. When I
at last got back to the sledges I felt rather slack; Johan-
sen was sitting on the kayak fast asleep, basking in the
sun. Then on again, but the light and warmth made us
drowsy and slack, and, try as we would, we seemed to lag;
so at ten in the forenoon we decided to camp, and I was not
a little surprised, when I took the meteorological observa-
tion, to find that the swing-thermometer showed —15.2°
Fahr. ( — 26.2° C). The tent was accordingly pitched in
the broiling sun, and nice and warm it soon was inside.
We had a comfortable Easter dinner, which did service
for both Easter-day and Easter- Monday. I reckon the dis-
tances we covered on Easter-eve and yesterday at about
15 miles, and we should thus be altogether 60 miles on
our way home.
" Wednesday, April 17th. --18.4' Fahr. (-28' C).
Yesterday, without doubt, we did our longest day's
march. We began at half-past seven in the morning,
A HARD STRUGGLE 179
and ended at about nine at night, with a couple of hours'
rest in the bag at dinner-time. The ice was what I
should previously have called anything but good ; it was
throughout extremely uneven, with pressed -up, rather
new ice, and older, rounded -off ridges. There were
ridges here and there, but progress was possible every-
where, and by lanes, happily, we were not hindered. The
snow was rather loose between all the irregularities of
the ice ; but the dogs hauled alone everywhere, and there
is no cause to complain of them. The ice we are now
stopping in seems to me to be something like that we
had around the Fram, We have about got down to the
region where she is drifting. I am certain we did 20
miles yesterday, and the distance homeward should now
be altogether 368 miles.
" The weather is glorious nowadays, not so cold as to
inconvenience one, and continual clear sunshine, without
any wind to signify. There is remarkable equableness
and stagnancy in the atmosphere up here, I think.
We have travelled over this ice for upward of a month
now, and not once have we been stopped on account of
bad weather — the same bright sunshine the whole time,
with the exception of a couple of days, and even then the
sun came out. Existence becomes more and more en-
joyable ; the cold is gone, and we are pressing forward
towards land and summer. It is no trial now to turn
out in the mornings, with a good day s march before
one, and cook, and lie snug and warm in the bag and
l8o FARTHEST NORTH
dream of the happy future when we get home.
Home . . . ?
" Have been engaged on an extensive sartorial under-
taking to-day; my trousers were getting the worse for
wear. It seems quite mild now to sit and sew in — 18°
Fahr. in comparison with —40° Fahr. Then certainly it
was not enjoyable to ply one's needle.
"Friday, April 19th. We now have provender for
the dogs for two or three days more, but I think of sav-
ing it a little longer and having the worst dogs eaten
first. Yesterday ' Perpetuum ' was killed. This killing of
the animals, especially the actual slaughtering, is a horri-
ble affair. We have hitherto stuck them with a knife,
but it was not very satisfactory. Yesterday, however,
we determined to try a new method — strangulation.
According to our usual custom, we led the dog away
behind a hummock, so that the others should not know
what was going on. Then we put a rope round the
animal's neck, and each pulled with all his might, but
without effect, and at last we could do no more. Our
hands were losing all sense of feeling in the cold, and
there was nothing for it but to use the knife. Oh, it was
horrible ! Naturally, to shoot them would be the most
convenient and merciful way, but we are loath to expend
our precious ammunition on them ; the time may come
when we shall need it sorely.
" The observations yesterday show that we have got
down to 85° 37.8' N., and the longitude should be 79° 26'
A HARD STRUGGLE i83
E. This tallies well with our reckoning. We have gone
50 miles or so since the last observation (April 13th), just
what I had assumed beforehand.
" Still the same brilliant sunshine day and night.
Yesterday the wind from the north freshened, and is still
blowing to-day, but does not trouble us much, as it is be-
hind us. The temperature, which now keeps from about
4° to 22° below zero (Fahr.), can only be described as
agreeable. This is undoubtedly fortunate for us; if it
were warmer the lanes would keep open a longer time.
My greatest desire now is to get under land before the
lanes become too bad. What we shall do then must be
decided by circumstances.
"Sunday, April 21st. At 4 o'clock yesterday we
got under way. During the night we stopped to have
something to eat. These halts for dinner, when we
take our food and crawl well down to the bottom of
the bag, where it is warm and comfortable, are unusually
cozy. After a good nap we set off again, but were
soon stopped by the ugliest lane we have yet come
across. I set off along it to find a passage, but only
found myself going through bad rubble. The lane was
everywhere equally broad and uncompromising, equally
full of aggregated blocks and brash, testifying clearly
to the manner in which, during a long period, the
ice here has been in motion and been crushed and
disintegrated by continual pressure. This was apparent,
too, in numerous new ridges of rubble and hummocky
1 84 FARTHEST NORTH
ice, and the cracks running in all directions. I finally
found a crossing, but when, after a long circuit, I had
conveyed the caravan there, it had changed in the in-
terval, and I did not think it advisable to make the at-
tempt. But though I went * farther than far/ as we
say, I only found the same abominable lane, full of
lumps of ice, grinning at one, and high pressure-ridges
on each side. Things were becoming worse and worse.
In several cases these lumps of ice were, I noticed, in-
termixed with earthy matter. In one place the whole
floe, from which blocks had been pressed up into a
ridge, was entirely dark-brown in color, but whether this
was from mud or from organic matter I did not get
near enough to determine. The ridges were fairly high
in some places, and reached a height of 25 feet or so.
I had a good opportunity here of observing how they
assume forms like ice -mountains with high, straight
sides, caused by the splitting of old ridges transversely
in several directions. I have often on this journey seen
massive high hummocks with similar square sides, and
of great circumference, sometimes quite resembling snow-
covered islands. They are of * palaeocrystic ice,' as good
as any one can wish.*
" I was constrained at last to return with my mission
unaccomplished. Nearly the most annoying thing about
♦ We saw no real ice-mountains at any {period of our journey before
we got under land ; everything was sea-ice. The same was the case
during the drift of the Fram.
A HARD STRUGGLE i8S
it was that on the other side of the lane I couid see fine
flat ice stretching southward — and now to be obliged to
camp here and wait! I had, however, already possessed
my soul in patience, when, on coming back to our
original stopping-place, I fniind a tolerably good crossing
close by it. We eventually got to the other side, with
JOHANSEN CARVING OUR NAMES IN A STOCK OF
nkiFT-wnoD.
the ice grinding under our feet the while, and by that
time it was 6 o'clock in the morning. We kept at it a
little while longer over beautiful flat ice, but the dogs
were tired, and it was nearly 48 hours since they had
been fed. As we were hastening along we suddenly
came across an immense piece of timber sticking up
186 FARTHEST NORTH
obliquely from the surface of the ice. It was Siberian
larch, as far as I could make out, and probably raised in
this manner through pressure long ago. Many a good
meal could we have cooked with it had we been able to
drag it with us, but it was too heavy. We marked it
*F. N., H. J., 85° 30' N.,' and went on our way.
•' Plains of ice still before us. I am looking forward
to getting under way. Gliding over this flat surface ori
one's snow-shoes almost reaches the ideal; land and home
are nigher, and as one goes along ones thoughts fly
southward to everything that is beautiful. Six in the
morning, —22° Fahr. (—30° C).
" Monday, April 2 2d. If we have made good prog-
ress the previous days, yesterday simply outdid itself.
I think I may reckon our day s march at 25 miles, but,
for the sake of certainty, lump the two last days together
and put them down at 40 miles. The dogs, though, are
beginning to get tired ; it is approaching the time for us
to camp. They are impatient for food, and, grown more
and more greedy for fresh dog s flesh, throw themselves
on it like wolves as soon as a smoking piece, with hair
and all on, is thrown to them. ' Kvik ' and ' Barnet ' only
still keep back as long as the flesh is warm, but let it
become frozen, and they eat it voraciously. Twelve mid-
night, -27.8° Fahr. (-33.3'' C).
"Friday, April 26th. —24.7° Fahr. (—31.5° C).
Minimum temperature, —32° Fahr. (—35.7° C). I was not
a little surprised yesterday morning when I suddenly
A HARD STRUGGLE 189
saw the track of an animal in the snow. It was that of a
fox, came about W. S. W. true, and went in an easterly
direction. The trail was quite fresh. What in the
world was that fox doing up here? There were also
unequivocal signs that it had not been entirely without
food. Were we in the vicinity of land ? Involuntarily
I looked round for it, but the weather was thick all day
yesterday, and we might have been near it without
seeing it. It is just as probable, however, that this
fox was following up some bear. In any case, a warm-
blooded mammal in the eighty-fifth parallel ! We had
not gone far when we came across another fox-track ;
it went in about the same direction as the other, and
followed the trend of the land which had stopped us,
and by which we had been obliged to camp. It is
incomprehensible what these animals live on up here, but
presumably they are able to snap up some crustacean
in the open waterways. But why do they leave the
coasts? That is what puzzles me most. Can they
have gone astray ? There seems little probability of that.
I am eager to see if we may not come across the trail
of a bear to-day. It would be quite a pleasure, and it
would seem as if we were getting nearer inhabited regions
again. I have just pricked out our course on the chart
according to our bearings, calculating that we have gone
69 miles in the four days since our last observation,
and I do not think this can be excessive. According to
this, it should not be much more than 138 miles to
IQO FARTHEST NORTH
Petermann's Land, provided it lie about where Payer
determined it. I should have taken an observation
yesterday, but it was misty.
" At the end of our day, yesterday, we went across
many lanes and piled -up ridges; in one of the latter,
which appeared to be quite new, immense pieces of
fresh-water ice had been pressed up. They were closely
intermixed with clay and gravel, the result of infiltra-
tion, so that at a distance the blocks looked dark-brown,
and might easily be taken for stone ; in fact, I really
thought they were stone. I can only imagine that this
ice is river ice, probably from Siberia. I often saw
huge pieces of fresh-water ice of this kind farther north,
and even in latitude 86° there was clay on the ice.
"Sunday, April 28th. We made good way yester-
day, presumably 20 miles. We began our march about
half-past three in the afternoon the day before yesterday,
and kept at it till yesterday morning. Land is drawing
nigh, and the exciting time beginning, when we may
expect to see something on the horizon. Oh, how I am
longing for land, for something under one's feet that is
not ice and snow; not to speak of something to rest one's
eyes on. Another fox-track yesterday ; it went in about
the same direction as the previous ones. Later in the
day * Gulen ' gave in ; it seemed to be a case of complete
exhaustion, he could hardly stand on his legs, reeled over,
and when we placed him on one of the loads he lay quite
still without moving. We had already decided to kill
A HARD STRUGGLE 191
him that day. Poor beast; faithfully he worked for us,
good-tempered and willing to the end, and then, for thanks,
when he could do no more, to be killed for provender 1
He was born on the Fram on December 13, 1893, and,
true child of the polar night, never saw aught but ice and
snow.
" Monday, April 29th, —4° Fahr. ( — 20° C). We had
not gone far yesterday when we were stopped by open
water — a broad pool or lane which lay almost straight
across our course. We worked westward alongside it for
some distance, until it suddenly began to close violently
together at a place where it was comparatively narrow.
In a few minutes the ice was towering above us, and we
got over by means of the noisy pressure-ridge, which was
thundering and crashing under our feet. It was a case
of bestirring ourselves and driving dogs and sledges
quickly over if we did not wish to get jammed between
the rolling blocks of ice. This ridge nearly swallowed
up Johansen's snow-shoes, which had been left behind for
a minute while we got the last sledge over. When at
last we got to the other side of the lane the day was far
spent, and such work naturally deserved reward in the
shape of an extra ration of meat-chocolate.
" Annoying as it is to be stopped in the midst of
beautiful flat ice by a lane, when one is longing to get on,
still, undeniably, it is a wonderful feeling to see open
water spread out in front of one, and the sun playing on
the light ripples caused by the wind. Fancy open water
192 FARTHEST NORTH
again, and glittering waves, after such a long time. One s
thoughts fly back to home and summer. I scanned in
vain to see if a seal's head were not visible above the
surface, or a bear along the side. The dogs are begin-
ning now to be very much reduced in strength and are
difficult to urge on. ' Barnet ' was quite done (he was
killed this evening), and several of the others are very
jaded. Even ' Baro,' my best dog, is beginning to cool
in his zeal, to say nothing of * Kvik'; perhaps I ought
to cater a little more generously for them. The wind
which was about southeast in the morning subsequently
went over to an easterly direction, and I expect, to use
Pettersen s customary expression on board for a good
southeaster which drove us northward to some purpose,
* a regular devil of a hiding.' I am only surprised the
temperature still seems low. I had noticed a thick bank
of clouds for a long time along the horizon in the south
and southwest, and thought that this must mean land.
It now began to grow higher and come nearer us in a
suspicious manner. When, after having had dinner, we
crept out of the bag, we saw that the sky was entirely
clouded over; and that the* devil of a hiding' had come
we felt when we went on.
"I saw another fox- track yesterday; it was almost
effaced by the snow, but went in about the same di-
rection as the others. This is the fourth we have come
across, and seeing so many of them make me begin to
believe seriously in the proximity of land. Yes, I ex-
A HARD STRUGGLE 193
pect to see it every minute ; perhaps, though, it will be
some days yet*
"Tuesday, April 30th. -6.7° Fahr. (-21.4° C).
Yesterday, in spite of everything, was a bad day. It be-
gan well, with brilliant sunshine ; was warm (4° below
zero Fahr.), and there, bathed in the slumbering sun-
light and alluring us on, were stretches of beautiful flat
ice. Everything tended to predict a good day's work;
but, alas, who could see the ugly dark cracks which ran
right across our course, and which were destined to
make life a burden to us. The wind had packed the
snow well together, and made the surface firm and
good, so that we made rapid progress; but we had not
gone far before we were stopped by a lane of entirely
open water which stretched right across our course.
After following it some little distance we eventually
found a way across.! Not long afterwards we came
across another lane running in about the same direction.
After a fairly long detour we got safely over this too,
with the minor misfortune that three dogs fell into the
water. A third lane we also got over, but the fourth was
too much for us altogether. It was broad, and we fol-
♦ In point of fact it was nearly three months (till July 24) before this
marvel happened.
t As on the previous day, the ice on the north side of the lane was
moving westward, in comparison with that on the south side. The same
thing was the case, or could be seen to have been so, with the lanes
we met with later in the day. We naturally conceived this to mean that
there was a strong westerly drift in the ice northward, while that south-
ward was retained by land.
11.— 13
194 FARTHEST NORTH
lowed it a long way in a westerly direction, but without
finding a suitable crossing. Then I continued some
three or four miles alone to scan the country, but as I
could see no chance of getting over, I returned to Jo-
hansen and the sledges. It is a fruitless task, this fol-
lowing a lane running at right angles to one's course.
Better to camp and make one's self some good pemmi-
can soup, a la Julienne (it was highly delectable), and then
give one's self up to sleep, in the hope of better things
in the future. Either the lanes will close together again
or they will freeze, now that it is tolerably cold. The
weather is quiet, so it is to be hoped new ones will not
form.* If it keep like this during the days we require
to reach land, it will be a good thing ; when once we
are on land as many lanes may form as they like. Should
matters become too bad before that time, there is nothing
for us to do but to mend and patch our kayaks. As they
are now they will not float. The continual capsizing of
the sledges has cut holes in many places, and they would
fill the instant they were put on the water."
I ought perhaps to explain here that I had deferred
mending the kayaks as long as possible. This was partly
because the work would take a long time, and the days
were precious, now that it was a question of gaining
land before the ice became impracticable ; partly, too,
because, in the temperature we now had, it would have
♦ The lanes form most frequently in windy weather, as the ice is then
set in motion.
A HARD STRUGGLE 195
been difficult to do the work properly; and also because
the chances were that they would soon get holes in them
again from being upset In addition to this I was un-
desirous of crossing lanes at present; they were still
covered with young ice, which it would have been difficult
to break through, even had it been possible to protect the
bows of the kayaks from being cut, by means of a piate
of German silver and some extra canvas. As I have
mentioned before, not the least drawback was the fact
that any water entering the kayaks would immediately
have frozen and have been impossible to remove, thus in-
creasing the weight of our loads at each crossing. It was
undoubtedly a better plan to go round, even if the way
was long, than to incur the hinderances and casualties
that the other alternative would, most probably, have
occasioned.
To continue quoting from my diary for the same day,
I write : " The dogs were at one of our precious pemmi-
can grips last night; they have torn off a corner of the
bag and eaten some of its contents, but happily not
much. We have been fortunate, inasmuch as they have
let the provisions alone hitherto ; but now hunger is
becoming too much for them, and nature is stronger
than discipline.
" Wednesday, May ist. -12.6° Fahr. (-24.8° C). I
• half-soled' my Finn shoes to-day with sail-cloth, so I hope
they will last a while ; I feel as if I could hold my own
again now. I have two pairs of Finn shoes, so that for
196 FARTHEST NORTH
once one pair can be dried in the sun. They have been
wet the whole way, and it has made them the worse for
wear."
The ice was now growing very bad again and our
marches shorter. On Friday, May 3d, I write in my
diary : " We did not do so good a day's work yesterday
as we expected, although we made some progress. The
ice was flat and the going good at one time, and we kept
steadily at it for four hours or so ; but then came several
reaches with lanes and rubble -ice, which, however, we
managed to pull through, though the ice was often pack-
ing under our feet. By degrees the wind from the south-
east increased, and while we were having dinner it veered
round to an easterly direction and became rather strong.
The ice, too, grew worse, with channels and rubble, and
when the wind reached a velocity of 29 to 33 feet in the
second, and a driving snow-storm set in, completely oblit-
erating everything around us, stumbling along through
it all became anything but attractive. After being de-
layed several times by newly formed rubble, I saw that
the only sensible thing to be done was to camp, if we
could find a sheltered spot. This was easier said than
done, as the weather was so thick we could hardly see
anything ; but at last we found a suitable place, and, well
content to be under shelter, ate our * fiskegratin,' and
crept into the bag, while the wind rattled the tent walls
and made drifts round us outside. We had been con-
strained to pitch our tent close beside a new ridge, which
A HARD STRUGGLE 197
was hardly desirable, as packing might take place, but
we had no choice ; it was the only lee to be found. Be-
fore I went to sleep the ice under us began to creak, and
soon the pressure-ridge behind us was packing with the
well-known jerks. I lay listening and wondering whether
it would be better for us to turn out before the ice-blocks
came tumbling on to us, but as I lay listening went fast
asleep and dreamed about an earthquake. When I woke
up again, some hours afterwards, everything was quiet
except the wind, which howled and rattled at the tent
walls, lashing the snow up against them.
" Yesterday evening ' Potifar ' was killed. We have
now sixteen dogs left; the numbers are diminishing hor-
ribly, and it is still so far to land. If only we were there !
" Saturday, May 4th. Did fourteen miles yesterday ;
but the lanes become worse and worse. When we got
under way in the afternoon — after having reloaded my
sledge and kayak, and readjusted the dunnage under
Johansen s kayak — the wind had fallen, and it was snow-
ing quietly and silently, with big flakes, just as it does
on a winter day at home. It was bad in one way, how-
ever, as in such a light it is difficult to see if the lay of
the ground is against or with us ; but the going was fairly
good, and we made progress. It was heavenly to work
in this mild weather, 4- 1 1 .8° Fahr. (— 11.3° C), and be
able to use one's frost-bitten hands bare, without suffer-
ing torture untold every time they came in contact with
anything.
19^ FARTHEST NORTH
" Our life, however, was soon embittered by open
water-ways. By means of a circuitous route, and the
expenditure of much valuable time, we at last suc-
ceeded in getting over them. Then came long stretches
of good ice, and we went cheerfully on our way; by-
and-bye, too, the sun peeped out. It is wonderful what
such encouragement does for one. A little while ago,
when I was ploughing alongside a horrible lane, through
rubble and over ridges, without a sign of any means of
getting on, I was ready to sink from exhaustion at every
step; no pleasure then could compare with that of being
able to crawl into the bag ; and now, when luck again
sheds her smiles on one and progress is before one, all
weariness is suddenly dissipated.
" During the night the ice began to be bad in earnest,
lane after lane, the one worse than the other, and they
were only overcome by deviations and intricate by-ways.
It was terrible work, and when the wind increased to a
good * mill-breeze ' matters became desperate. This is in-
deed toil without ceasing ; what would I not give to have
land, to have a certain way before me, to be able to
reckon on a certain day's march, and be free from this
never-ending anxiety and uncertainty about the lanes. No-
body can tell how much trouble they may yet cause us,
and what adversities we may have to go through before
we reach land ; and meanwhile the dogs are diminishing
steadily. They haul all they can, poor things, but what
good does it do.^ I am so tired that I stagger on my
A HARD STRUGGLE 199
snow-shoes, and when I fall down only wish to He there
to save myself the trouble of getting up again. But every-
thing changes, and we shall get to land in time.
" At five this morning we came to a broad lane, and as
it was almost impossible to get the dogs on any farther,
we camped. Once well down in the bag with a pot of
savory-smelling lobscouse in front of one, a feeling of well-
being is the result, which neither lanes nor anything else
can disturb.
" The ice we have gone through has, on the whole,
been flat, with the exception of the newly formed lanes
and rubble. These appear, however, for the most part in
limited stretches, with extensive flat ice between, as yes-
terday. All the channels seem in the main to go in the
same direction — about straight across our course, with a
little deflection towards the southwest. They run about
northeast to west-southwest (by compass). This morning
the temperature had again sunk to +o.i° Fahr. (— 17.8°
C), after having been up at + 12.2° Fahr. (—11° C), and
therefore I am still in hopes that the water may freeze
within a reasonable time. Perhaps it is wrong of us to
curse this wind, for on board the Fram they are rejoicing
that a southeaster has at last sprung up. However, in
spite of our maledictions, I am really glad for their sake,
although I could wish it deferred till we reach land.
" Wednesday, May 8th. The lanes still appear
regularly in certain places — as a rule, where the ice is
very uneven, and where there are old and new ridges
aoo FARTHEST NORTH
alternately; between these places there are long, flat
stretches of ice without lanes. These are often perfect-
ly even, almost like 'inland ice/ The direction of the
lanes is, as before, very often athwart our course, or a
little more southwesterly. Others, again, seem to go in
about the same direction as we do. This ice is extraor-
dinar}'; it seems to become more and more even as
we approach land, instead of the contrary, as we expected.
If it would only keep so ! It is considerably flatter than
il was about the Fram, it seems to me. There are no
really impracticable places, and the irregularities there
ai'c seen to be of small dimensions — rubble-ice, and so
forth; no huge mounds and ridges, as we had farther
north. Some of the lanes here are narrow, and so far
new that the water was only covered with brash. This can
be deceptive enough; it appears to be even ice, but thrust
one s staff in, and it goes right through and into the water.
" This morning I made out our latitude and longitude.
The former was (Sunday, May 5th) 84*^ 31' N., and the
latter 66° 1 5' E. We were not so far south as I expected,
but considerably farther west. It is the drift which has
put us back and westward. I shall, therefore, for the
future, steer a more southerly course than before, about
due south (true), as we are still drifting westward, and,
above everything, I am afraid of getting too far in that
direction. It is to be hoped that we shall soon have
land in sight, and we shall then know where to steer.
We undoubtedly ought to be there now.
A HARD STRUGGLE 20i
" No dog was killed yesterday, as there were two-
thirds left of * Ulenka ' from the previous day, which
provided an abundant repast. I now only intend to
slaughter one ever}^ other day, and perhaps we shall
soon come across a bear.
"Thursday, May 9th. +9° Fahr. (—13.3° C). Yes-
terday was a fairly good day. The ice was certainly not
first-rate, rather rubbly, and the going heavy, but all the
same we are making steady way forward. There were
long, flat stretches every now and then. The weather
had become quite fine when we got under way, about
3 o clock this morning. The sun was shining through
light cumulus clouds. It was hard work, however,
making head against the ice, and soon the fog came
down with the wind, which still blew from the same
direction (N.N.E.).
" The work of hauling becomes heavier and heavier for
the dogs, in proportion as their numbers diminished. The
wooden runners, too (the under-runners), do not seem to
ride well. I have long thought of taking them off, and
to-day really decided to \.xy the sledges without them.
In spite of everything the dogs keep a very even pace,
with only a halt now and then. Yesterday there were
only four dogs for my sledge. One of them, ' Flint,'
slipped his harness and ran away, and we did not get hold
of him again before the evening, when he was killed by
way of punishment. The ice was all along more uneven
than it has been the last few days. In the afternoon the
202 FARTHEST NORTH
weather thickened, and the wind increased till, at about
3 o'clock, a regular snow-storm was raging. No way
was to be seen, only whiteness everywhere, except in
places where the pointed blue ice from the ridges stuck
up through the snow-drifts. After a while the ice grew
worse, and I went headlong on to ridges and irregularities
without even seeing them. I hoped this was only rough
ice which we should pass through, but matters did not
improve, and we thought there was no sense in going on.
Luckily we had just then dropped on a good sheltered
camping-ground; otherwise it would have been difficult
enough to find one in such weather, where nothing could
be discerned. Meanwhile we are getting southward, and
are more and more surprised at not seeing signs of land.
We reckon now to have left the eighty-fourth parallel be-
hind us.
"Friday, May loth. +16.2° Fahr. (-8.8° C). Our
life has many difficulties to combat. Yesterday promised
to be a good day, but thick weather hindered our ad-
vance. When, we crept out of the tent yesterday fore-
noon it was fine, the sun was shining, the going was
unusually good, and the ice appeared to be unusually
even. We had managed in the snow-storm of the pre-
vious evening to get into a belt of foul ice, which was
merely local. Before we started we thought of taking
the removable wooden runners off the sledges, but on
trying mine beforehand found that it ran well as it was.
I decided, therefore, to wait a little longer, as I was afraid
A HARD STRUGGLE 203
that removing the wooden runners might weaken the
sledge. Johansen, meanwhile, had taken them off the
middle sledge; but as we then discovered that one of
the birch runners had split right across under one of
the uprights, there was nothing for it but to put it on
" WE MADE FAIRLV GOOD PROGRESS
again. It was a pity, though, as the sledge would have
run much better on the newly tarred runners than on the
scratched under-runners. We made fairly good progress,
in spite of there being only 13 dogs left -4 to my
sledge, 4 to the birch sledge, and 5 to Johansen's. But
later in the afternoon the weather thickened rapidly
204 FARTHEST NORTH
and snow began to fall, which prevented our seeing
anything before us. The ice, however, was fairly even,
and we kept going. We came across a lane, but this
we crossed by means of a detour. Not long afterwards
again we got among a number of abominable pressure-
ridges, and ran right into high mounds and over steep
r
brinks without seeing them. Wherever one turned
there were sudden drops and pitfalls, although every-
thing looked so fair and even under its covering of still-
falling snow. As there seemed to be little good in con-
tinuing, we decided to camp, have our dinner of savory
hot lobscouse, make out our longitude, and then pass
the time until it should clear again; and if this did not
take place soon, then have a good sleep and be ready to
get under way as soon as the weather should permit
After having slept for a couple of hours (it was i o'clock
in the morning), I turned out of the tent and was con-
fronted with the same thick, overcast weather, with only
a strip of clear blue sky down by the horizon in the
southwest, so I let Johansen sleep on and reckoned out
our longitude, which proved to be 64° 20' E. We have
drifted considerably westward since I last made it out, if
my calculations be right. While I was thus occupied I
heard a suspicious gnawing noise outside in the direc-
tion of the kayaks. I listened, and — quite right — it was
the dogs up in Johansen's kayak. I ran out, caught
' Haren,' who was just lying gnawing at the portions of
fresh dogs* flesh destined for to-morrow's consumption,
A HARD STRUGGLE 205
and gave him a good thrashing for his pains. The
casing over the opening in the kayak was then properly
secured, and snow-shoes and sticks piled on.
" The weather is still the same, overcast and thick ;
but the wind has veered round to a more southerly di-
rection, and the clear strip of blue sky in the southwest
has risen a little higher from the ice-margin — can there
be a west wind in prospect.'^ Welcome, indeed, would
it be, and longing were the glances I directed towards
that blue strip — there lay sunshine and progress; per-
haps even land was beneath it. I could see the cumulus
clouds sailing through the blue atmosphere, and thought
if only we were there, only had land under us, then all our
troubles would sink into oblivion. But material needs
must not be forgotten, and, perhaps, it would be better
to get into the bag and have a good sleep while waiting.
Many times in the morning did I peep out of the tent,
but always saw the same cloudy sky and the same white
prospect wherever the eye turned. Down in the west
and southwest was always the same strip of clear blue
sky, only that now it was lower again. When we at
last turned out in the forenoon the weather was just the
same, and the azure strip on the horizon in the south-
west was still there. I think it must have something to
do with land, and it gives me hope that this may not be
so far off. It is a tougher job than we thought, this
gaining land, but we have had many enemies to make
headway against — not only foul ice and bad going, but
m6 farthest north
also wind, water, and thick weather — ^all of them equally
obdurate adversaries to overcome.
'* Sunday, May 12th. +0.6' Fahr. (—17.5^ C). Yes-
terday we had a better time than we expected. Ch-er-
cast and thick it was the whole time, and we felt our
way rather than saw it The ice was not particularly
good either, but we pressed onward, and had the satis-
faction nov/ and then of travelling over several long
stretches of flat ice. A couple of channels which had
partly opened hindered us somewhat Curiously enough
the strip of clear sky was still there in the S.S.W. (true),
and as we went along rose higher in the heavens. We
kept exp)ecting it to spread, and that the weather would
clear ; we needed it sorely to find our way ; but the strip
never rose any higher, and yet remained there equally
clear. Then it sank again, and only a small rim was
left visible on the margin of the sky. Then this also
disappeared. I cannot help thinking that this strip must
have had something to do with land. At 7 o'clock this
morning we came to a belt of ice as bad, almost, as I have
ever seen it, and as I thought it unadvisable to make an
onslaught in such thick weather, we encamped. I hope
we did our 14 miles, and can reckon on only 90 more to
land, if it lie in 83° latitude. The ice is undoubtedly of
a different character from what it was previously: it is
less even, and old lanes and new ones, with ridges and
rubble, are more frequent — all seeming to point to the
vicinity of land.
A HARD STRUGGLE 207
" Meanwhile time is going, and the number of dogs
diminishing. We have now 12 left; yesterday *Katta'
was killed. And our provisions are also gradually on
the decrease, though, thank Heaven, we have a good
deal remaining. The first tin of petroleum (2^ gallons)
came to an end three days ago, and we shall soon have
finished our second sack of bread. We do nothing but
scan the horizon longingly for land, but see nothing, even
when I climb up on to the highest hummocks with the
telescope.
"Monday, May 13th. +8.6° Fahr. (-13° C); mini-
mum + 6.6° Fahr. (—14.2° C). This is, indeed, a toilsome
existence. The number of the dogs, and likewise their
hauling powers, diminish by degrees, and they are inert
and difficult to urge on. The ice grows worse and
worse as we approach land, and is, besides, covered with
much deeper and looser snow than before. It is par-
ticularly difficult to get on in the broken-up ice, where
the snow, although it covers up many irregularities, at
the same time lets one sink through almost up to one's
thighs between the pieces of ice as soon as one takes
one's snow-shoes off to help the sledge. It is extremely
tiring and shaky on this sort of surface to use one's snow-
shoes not firmly secured to the feet, but one cannot have
them properly fastened on when one has to help the dogs
at any moment or pull and tug at these eternal sledges.
I think in snow such as this Indian snow-shoes would be
preferable, and I only wish I had some. Meanwhile,
2o8 FARTHEST NORTH
however, we covered some ground yesterday, and if I
reckon 20 miles for yesterday and to-day together I do
not think I shall be very far out. We should thus have
only about 50 miles to the 83d parallel and the land
which Payer determined. We are keeping a somewhat
southerly course, about due south (true), as this continual
east wind is certainly driving us westward, and I do not
like the idea of drifting west past land. It is beginning
to be tolerably warm inside the bag at night now, and
last night I could hardly sleep for heat.
"Tuesday, May 14th. +6.8° Fahr. (-14° C). Yes-
terday was a cozy day of rest. Just as we were about
to get under way after breakfast it clouded over, and a
dense snow-storm set in, so that to start out in such
weather, in the uneven ice we have now before us, would
not have been worth while. I therefore made up my
mind to halt for the time being and get some trifles
done, and in particular the shifting of the load from the
birch sledge on to the two others, and so at last get rid
of this third sledge, for which we can no longer spare
any dogs. This took some time ; and as it was abso-
lutely necessary to do it, we lost nothing by stopping for
a day.
" We had now so much wood from the sledge, to-
gether with broken snow-shoe staves and the results of
other casualties, that I thought we should be able to use
it as fuel for some time to come, and so save the petro-
leum. We accordingly made a fire of it to cook the
A HARD STRUGGLE 209
supper with, contrived a cooking - pot out of the empty
petroleum tin, and hung it over in the approved fashion.
At the first start-off we lighted the fire just outside the
tent door, but soon gave that up, as, for the first thing, we
nearly burned up the tent, and, secondly, the smoke came
in till we could hardly see out of our eyes. But it
warmed well and looked wonderfully cheerful. Then we
moved it farther off, where it could neither burn up the
tent nor smoke us out; but therewith all the joy of it
was departed. When we had about burned up the whole
sledge and succeeded in getting a pot of boiling water,
with the further result of having nearly melted the floe
through on which we were living, I gave up the idea of
cooking with sledges and went back to our trusty friend,
the ' Primus ' — and a sociable and entertaining friend, too,
which one can have by one's side as one lies in the bag.
We have as much petroleum, I should imagine, as we
shall require for the journey before us, and why bother
about anything else ? If the petroleum should come to
an end too soon, why, then we can get as much train-oil
from bear and seal and walrus as we shall require. I am
very anxious to see the result of our reloading. Our
two kayak sledges have undoubtedly become somewhat
heavier, but then we shall have six dogs to each as long
as they last. Our patience has been rewarded at last
with the most brilliant sunshine and sparkling sky. It is
so warm in the tent that I am lying basking in the heat.
One might almost think one's self under an awning on a
II— 14
2IO FARTHEST NORTH
summer's day at home. Last night it was almost too
warm to sleep."
The ice kept practicable to a certain extent during
these days, though the lanes provided us with many an
obstacle to overcome. Then, in addition to this, the dogs'
strength was failing, they were ready to stop at the
slightest unevenness, and we did not make much way.
On Thursday, May i6th, I write in my diary: "Several
of the dogs seem to be much exhausted. ' Baro ' (the
leader of my team) gave in yesterday. He could hardly
move at last, and was slaughtered for supper. Poor
animal. He hauled faithfully to the end.
" It was Johansen's birthday yesterday ; he completed
his twenty-eighth year, and of course a feast was held
in honor of the occasion. It consisted of lobscouse, his
favorite dish, followed by some good hot lime-juice grog.
The midday sun made it warm and comfortable in the
tent. 6 A.M., -1-3.6° Fahr. (—15.8° C).
" Have to - day calculated our latitude and longitude
for yesterday, and find it was 83° 36' N. and 59"" 55'
E. Our latitude agrees exactly with what I supposed,
according to the dead reckoning, but our longitude is
almost alarmingly westerly, in spite of the fact that our
course has been the whole time somewhat southerly.
There appears to be a strong drift in the ice here, and it
will be better for us to keep east of the south, in order
not to drift past land. To be quite certain, I have again
reckoned out our observations of April 7th and 8th, but
A HARD STRUGGLE 211
find no error, and cannot think otherwise than that we
are about right Still it seems remarkable that we have
not yet seen any signs of land. 10 p.m., +1.4° Fahr.
(-17° C).
"Friday, May 17th. -1-12.4° Fahr. (— lo.g^C); mini-
mum, — 19° C. To-day is the * Seventeenth of May' —
Constitution-day. I felt quite certain that by to-day, at
any rate, we should have been on land somewhere or
other, but fate wills otherwise ; we have not even seen a
sign of it yet. Alas! here I lie in the bag, dreaming day-
dreams and thinking of all the rejoicings at home, of the
children's processions and the undulating mass of people
at this moment in the streets. How welcome a sight to
see the flags, with their red bunting, waving in the blue
spring atmosphere, and the sun shining through the
delicate young green of the leaves. And here we are in
drifting ice, not knowing exactly where we are, uncertain
as to our distance from an unknown land, where we hope
to find means of sustaining life and thence carve our way
on towards home, with two teams of dogs whose numbers
and strength diminish day by day, with ice and water
between us and our goal which may cause us untold
trouble, with sledges which now, at any rate, are too heavy
for our own powers. We press laboriously onward mile
by mile ; and meanwhile, perhaps, the drift of the ice is
carrying us westward out to sea, beyond the land we are
striving for. A toilsome life, undeniably, but there will
be an end to it some time ; some time we shall reach it.
212 FARTHEST NORTH
and meanwhile our flag for the * Seventeenth of May '
shall wave above the eighty-third parallel, and if fate
send us the first sight of land to-day our joy will be two-
fold.
" Yesterday was a hard day. The weather was fine,
even brilliant, the going splendid, and the ice good, so
that one had a right to expect progress were it not for
the dogs. They pull up at everything, and for the man
ahead it is a continual going over the same ground three
times : first to find a way and make a track, and then
back again to drive on the dogs ; it is slow work indeed.
Across quite flat ice the dogs keep up to the mark
pretty well, but at the first difficulty they stop. I tried
harnessing myself in front of them yesterday, and it
answered pretty well; but when it came to finding the
way in foul ice it had to be abandoned.
** In spite of everything, we are pushing forward,
and eventually shall have our reward ; but for the time
being this would be ample could we only reach land
and land-ice without these execrable lanes. Yesterday
we had four of them. The first that stopped us did
not cause immoderate trouble; then we went over a
short bit of middling ice, though, with lane after lane
and ridges. Then came another bad lane, necessitat-
ing a circuit. After this we traversed some fairly
good ice, this time considerably more of it than
previously, but soon came to a lane, or rather a pool,
of greater size than we had ever seen before — ex-
A HARD STRUGGLE 213
actly what the Russians would call a *polynja.* It
was covered with young ice, too weak to bear. We
started confidently alongside it in a southwesterly
direction (true), in the belief that we should soon find
a way across ; but * soon ' did not come. Just where
we expected to find a crossing, an overwhelming sight
presented itself to our gaze ; the pool stretched away
in a southwesterly direction to the very horizon, and
we could see no end to it! In the mirage on the
horizon, a couple of detached blocks of ice rose above
the level of the pool; they appeared to be floating in
open water, changed constantly in shape, and disappeared
and reappeared. Everything seemed to indicate that
the pool debouched right into the sea in the west
From the top of a high hummock I could, however,
with the glass, see ice on the other side, heightened
by the looming. But it was anything but certain that
it really was situated at the western end of the pool;
more probably, it indicated a curve in the direction of
the latter. What was to be done here.'^ To get over
seemed for the moment an impossibility. The ice
was too thin to bear and too thick to set the kayaks
through, even if we should mend them. How long
it might take at this time of year for the ice to
become strong enough to bear, I did not know, but
one day would scarcely do it. To settle down and wait,
therefore, seemed too much. How far the pool
extended and how long we might have to travel
214 FARTHEST NORTH
along it before we found a crossing and could again
keep to our course no one could tell ; but the
probability was a long time — perhaps days. On the
other hand, to retreat in the direction whence we came
seemed an unattractive alterriative ; it would lead us
away from our goal, and also perhaps necessitate a long
journey in an opposite direction before we could find a
crossing. The pool extended true S. 50° W. To follow
it would undoubtedly take us out of our course, which
ought now properly to be east of south ; but on the
whole this direction was nearest the line of our advance,
and consequently we decided to try it. After a short
time we came to a new lane running in a transverse di-
rection to the pool. Here the ice was strong enough to
bear, and on examining the ice on the pool itself beyond
the confluence of this lane I found a belt where the
young ice had, through pressure, been jammed up in
several layers. This happily was strong enough to bear,
and we got safely over the pool, the trend of which we
had been prepared to follow for days. Then on we went
again, though in toil and tribulation, until at half -past
eight in the evening we again found ourselves con-
fronted by a pool or lane of exactly the same description
as the former one, with the exception only that this time
the view to the * sea ' opened towards the northeast, while
in the southwest the sky-line was closed in by ice. The
lane also was covered with young ice, which in the mid-
dle was obviously of the same age as that on the last
A HARD STRUGGLE 215
pool. Near the edge there was some thicker and older
ice, which would bear, and over which I went on snow-
shoes to look for a crossing, but found none as far as I
went. The strip of ice along the middle, sometimes
broad and sometimes narrow, was everywhere too thin to
risk taking the sledges over. We consequently decided
to camp and wait till to-day, when it is to be hoped the
ice will be strong enough to bear. And here we are
still with the same lane in front of us. Heaven only
knows what surprises the day will bring.
"Sunday, May 19th. The surprise which the Seven-
teenth brought us was nothing less than that we found
the lanes about here full of narwhals. When we had
just got under way, and were about to cross over the
lane we had been stopped by the previous day, I became
aware of a breathing noise, just like the blowing of
whales. I thought at first it must be from the dogs,
but then I heard for certain that the sound came from
the lane. I listened. Johansen had heard the noise
the whole morning, he said, but thought it was only ice
jamming in the distance. No, that sound I knew well
enough, I thought, and looked over towards an opening in
the ice whence I thought it proceeded. Suddenly I saw a
movement which could hardly be falling ice, and — quite
right — up came the head of a whale; then came the
body; it executed the well-known curve, and disappeared.
Then up came another, accompanied by the same sound.
There was a whole school of them. I shouted that
2i6 FARTHEST NORTH
they were whales, and, running to the sledge, had my
gun out in a second. Then came the adjusting of a
harpoon, and after a little work this was accomplished,
and I was ready to start in pursuit. Meanwhile the
animals had disappeared from the opening in the ice
where I had first seen them, though I heard their
breathing from some openings farther east. I followed
the lane in that direction, but did not come within
range, although I got rather near them once or twice.
They came up in comparatively small openings in the
ice, which were to be found along the whole length
of the lane. There was every prospect of being able
to get a shot at them if we stopped for a day to watch
the holes; but we had no time to spare, and could not
have taken much with us had we got one, as the sledges
were heavy enough already. We soon found a passage
over, and continued our journey with the flags hoisted
on the sledges in honor of the day. As we were going
so slowly now that it was hardly possible for things to
be worse, I determined at our dinner-hour that I really
would take off the under-runners from my sledge. The
change was unmistakable; it was not like the same
sledge. Henceforth we got on well, and after a while
the under-runners from Johansen's sledge were also re-
moved. As we furthermore came on some good ice
later in the day, our progress was quite unexpectedly
good, and when we stopped at half-past eleven yesterday
morning, I should think we had gone lo miles during
A HARD STRUGGLE 217
our day's march. This brings us down to latitude
83° 20' or so.
" At last, then, we have come down to latitudes which
have been reached by human beings before us, and it
cannot possibly be far to land. A little while before we
halted yesterday we crossed a lane or pool exactly like
the two previous ones, only broader still. Here, too, I
heard the blowing of whales, but although I was not far
from the hole whence the noise presumably came, and
although the opening there was quite small, I could per-
ceive nothing. Johansen, who came afterwards with the
dogs, said that as soon as they reached the frozen lane
they got scent of something and wanted to go against
the wind. Curious that there should be so many nar-
whals in the lanes here.
" The ice we are now travelling over is surprisingly
bad. There are few or no new ridges, only small older
irregularities, with now and then deep snow in between,
and then these curious broad, endless lanes, which re-
semble each other, and run exactly parallel, and are all
unlike those we have met before. They are remark-
able from the fact that, while formerly I always observed
the ice on the north side of the lane to drift westward,
in comparison with that which lay on the south side, the
reverse was here the case. It was the ice on the south
side which drifted westward.
" As I am afraid that we are continually drifting rap-
idly westward, I have kept a somewhat easterly course —
2i8 FARTHEST NORTH
S.S.E. or east of that, according as the drift necessitates.
We kept the Seventeenth of May — on the i8th, it is true
— by a feast of unsurpassed magnificence, consisting of
lobscouse, stewed red whortleberries mixed with vril-food,
and stamina h'me-juice mead (i.e.y a concoction of lime-
juice tablets and Frame Food stamina tablets dissolved
in water), and then, having eaten our fill, crawled into
our bag."
As we gradually made our way southward the ice be-
came more impracticable and difficult to travel over. We
still came across occasional good flat plains, but they were
often broken up by broad belts of jammed-up ice, and in
a measure by channels, which hindered our advance. On
May 19th I write: " I climbed to the top of the highest
hummock I have yet been up. I measured it roughly,
and made it out to be about 24 feet above the ice whence
I had climbed up; but, as this latter was considerably
above the surface of the water, the height was probably
30 feet or so. It formed the crest of quite a short and
crooked pressure-ridge, consisting of only small pieces of
ice."
That day we came across the first tracks of bears
which we had seen on our journey over the ice. The
certainty that we had got down to regions where these
animals are to be found, and the prospect of a ham, made
us very joyous. On May 20th there was a tremendous
snow-storm, through which it was impossible to see our
way on the uneven ice. " Consequently there is nothing
A HARD STRUGGLE • 219
for it but to creep under the cover again and sleep as
long as one can. Hunger at last, though, is too much
for us, and I turn out to make a stew of delicious liver
' pate.' Then a cup of whey drink, and into the bag
again, to write or slumber as we list. Here we are, w^ith
nothing to do but to wait till the weather changes and
we can go on.
"We can hardly be far from 83° 10' N., and should
have gained Petermann s Land if it be where Payer
supposed. Either we must be unconscionably out of our
bearings, or the country very small. Meanwhile, I sup-
pose, this east wind is driving us westward, out to sea,
in the direction of Spitzbergen. Heaven alone knows
what the velocity of the drift may be here. Oh, well, I
am not in the least downhearted. We still have 10 dogs,
and should we drift past Cape Fligely, there is land
enough west of us, and that we can hardly mistake.
Starve we scarcely can ; and if the worst should come to
the worst, and we have to make up our minds to winter
up here, we can face that too — if only there was nobody
waiting at home. But we shall get back before the
winter. The barometer is falling steadily, so that it
will be a case of patience long drawn out, but we shall
manage all right."
On the afternoon of the following day (May 21st)
we were at last able to get off, though the weather was
still thick and snowy, and we often staggered along like
blind men. " As the wind was strong and right at our
220 FARTHEST NORTH
back, and as the ice was fairly even, I at last put a sail
to my sledge. It almost went by itself, but did not in
the least change the dogs' pace ; they kept the same slow
time as before. Poor beasts, they become more and
more tired, and the going is heavy and loose. We
passed over many newly frozen pools that day, and some
time previously there must have been a remarkable
quantity of open water.
" I do not think I exceed when I put down our day's
march at 14 miles, and we ought to have latitude 83° be-
hind us, but as yet no sign of land. This is becoming
rather exciting.
"Friday, May 24th. +18.8° Fahr.(-74° C). Mini-
mum —11.4° C. Yesterday was the worst day we have
yet had. The lane we had before us when we stopped
the previous day proved to be worse than any of the
others had been. After breakfast at i a.m., and while
Johansen was engaged in patching the tent, I trudged
off to look for a passage across, but was away for three
hours without finding any. There was nothing for it
but to follow the bend of the lane eastward and trust to
getting over eventually, but it turned out to be a longer
job than we had anticipated. When we came to the
place where it appeared to end, the surrounding ice-mass
was broken up in all directions, and the floes were grind-
ing against each other as they tore along. There was no
safe passage across to be found anywhere. Where at
one moment, perhaps, I might have crossed over, at the
A HARD STRUGGLE 221
next, when I had brought the sledges up, there was only
open water. Meanwhile we executed some intricate
manoeuvring from floe to floe, always farther east, in
order to get round. The ice jammed under and around
us, and it was often a difficult matter to get through.
Often did we think we were well across, when still worse
lanes and cracks in front of us met our disappointed
gaze. It was enough sometimes to make one despair.
" There seemed to be no end to it ; wherever one
turned were yawning channels. On the overcast sky
the dark, threatening reflection of water was to be seen
in all directions. It really seemed as if the ice was
entirely broken up. Hungry and almost tired to death
we were, but determined, if possible, to have our troubles
behind us before we stopped for dinner. But at last
matters came to a hopeless pitch, and at i o'clock, after
nine hours' work, we decided to have a meal. It is a
remarkable fact that, let things be as bad as they may,
once in the bag, and with food in prospect, all one's
troubles sink into oblivion. The human being becomes
a happy animal, which eats as long as it can keep its eyes
open, and goes to sleep with the food in its mouth. Oh,
blissful state of heedlessness ! But at 4 o'clock we had to
turn to again at the apparently hopeless task of threading
the maze of lanes. As a last drop in our cup of misery
the weather became so thick and shadowless that one
literally could not see if one were walking up against a
wall of ice or plunging into a pit. Alas, we have only
222 FARTHEST NORTH
too much of this mist ! How many lanes and cracks we
went across, how many huge ridges we clambered over,
dragging the heavy sledges after us, I cannot say, but
very many. They twisted and turned in all directions,
and water and slush met us everywhere.
" But everything comes to an end, and so did this.
After another two-and-a-half hours' severe exertion we
had put the last lane behind us, and before us lay a
lovely plain. Altogether we had now been at this sort
of work for nearly twelve hours, and I had, in addition,
followed the lane for three hours in the morning, which
made fifteen altogether. We were thoroughly done,
and wet too. How many times we had gone through the
deceptive crust of snow which hides the water between
the pieces of ice it is impossible to say. Once during
the morning I had had a narrow escape. I was going
confidently along on snow-shoes over what I supposed
to be solid ice when suddenly the ground began to sink
beneath me. Happily there were some pieces of ice not
far off on which I succeeded in throwing myself, while
the water washed over the snow I had just been
standing on. I might have had a long swim for it
through the slush, which would have been anything but
pleasant, particularly seeing that I was alone.
" At last we had level ice before us ; but, alas ! our
happiness was destined to be short-lived. From the
dark belt of clouds on the sky we saw that a new
channel was in prospect, and at eight in the evening we
A HARD STRUGGLE 223
had reached it. I was too tired to follow the trend of
the lane (it was not short) in order to find a crossing,
particularly as another channel was visible behind it. It
was also impossible to see the ice around one in the
heavily falling snow. It was only a question, therefore,
of finding a camping-place, but this was easier said than
done. A strong north wind, was blowing, and no shelter
was to be found from it on the level ice we had just
got on to. Every mound and irregularity was examined
as we passed by it in the snow-storm, but all were too
small. We had to content ourselves at last with a lit-
tle pressed-up hummock, which we could just get under
the lee of. Then, again, there was too little snow, and
only after considerable work did we succeed in pitching
the tent. At last, however, the * Primus ' was singing
cheerily inside it, the ' fiskegratin ' diffusing its savory
odor, and two happy beings were ensconced comfortably
inside the bag, enjoying existence and satisfied, if not,
indeed, at having done a good day's march, yet in the
knowledge of having overcome a difficulty.
" While we were having breakfast to-day I went out
and took a meridian altitude, which, to our delight, made
us 82° 52' N.
" Sunday, May 26th. When the ice is as uneven as it is
now, the difficulty of making headway is incredible. The
snow is loose, and if one takes one's snow-shoes off for a
moment one sinks in above one s knees. It is impossible
to fasten them on securely, as every minute one must
224 FARTHEST NORTH
help the dogs with the sledges. Added to this, if the
weather be thick, as yesterday, one is apt to run into the
largest ridges or snow-drifts without seeing them ; every-
thing is equally white under its covering of new snow,
and the light comes from all directions, so that it throws
no shadows. Then one plunges in headlong, and with
difficulty can get up and on- to one's snow-shoes again.
This takes place continually, and the longer it lasts the
worse it gets. At last one literally staggers on ones
snow-shoes from fatigue, just as if one were drunk. But
we are gaining ground, and that is the chief thing, be
one's shins ever so bruised and tender. This manner
of progress is particularly injurious to the ankles, on
account of the constant unsteadiness and swerving of
the snow-shoes, and many a day have mine been much
swollen. The dogs, too, are becoming exhausted, which
is worse.
"I have to-day reckoned out the observations made
yesterday, and find, to our joy, that the longitude is 6i°
27' E., so that we have not drifted westward, but have
come about south, according to our course. My con-
stant fear of drifting past land is thus unfounded, and
we should be able to reckon on reaching it before very
long. We may possibly be farther east than we suppose,
but hardly farther west, so that if we now go due south
for a while, and then southwest, we must meet with land,
and this within not many days. I reckon that we did 20
miles southward yesterday, and should thus be now in
A HARD STRUGGLE 225
latitude 82° 40' N. A couple more days, and our lati-
tude will be very satisfactory.
" The ice we have before us looks practicable, but
to judge by the sky, we have a number of water-ways a
little farther on ; we must manage somehow to fight our
way across them. I should be very reluctant to mend
the kayaks just now, before we have reached land and
firm land ice. They require a thorough overhauling,
both as to frames and covers. My one thought now is
to get on while we still have some dogs, and thus use
them up.
" A comfortable Sunday morning in the tent to-day.
These observations put me in good spirits; life seems to
look bright before us. Soon we must be able to start
homeward at good speed and across open water. Oh,
what a pleasure it will be to handle paddle and gun
again, instead of this continual toil with the sledges!
Then, too, the shouting to the dogs to go on — it seems
to wear and tear one s ears and every nerve in one's
body.
"Monday, May 27th. Ever since yesterday morning
we have seen the looming of water on the sky ; it is the
same looming that we saw on the previous day, and I set
our course direct for the place where, to judge by it, there
should be the greatest accumulation of ice, and where,
consequently, a crossing should be easiest. During the
course of the afternoon we came on one lane after the
other, just as the water -sky had denoted, and towards
IL— 15
•f^nsmsr rie i2rs: zesr-iria" rerirr i:^ 2z:^zr&i open water
■It i T^rse kntL Tire rs5=ct5:c "ns parrcri'.irly dark and
I nccx - iT'i-c 2ctt i iczisc ..Lrjr ctj^irs US. stretcking
3:«:rr izzzracti'riiijr ir.ir 2r,T zc r:e ure^.-ious ones. As
rie i*-'r> THrTr iinfc. :vir cij's narch had been a good
cce. ind x^ hid a jc-leoifc cxTipEng-place ready to hand,
wt ieS5ed r: rct::h rie rezi. Well sadsned and certain
thir ve "sx^r^r -•:-3r ir. larr^ie S^i". and that land must
izr'.'iiirlT re ze^r. «ne disappeared into the bag.
- Ehirir.^: br^ikfasi this morning I went out and took
a meriifi- alrlnie. It proves that we have not deceived
ourselves^ We an^ in latitude 82" 30' N., perhaps even
a minu:e or nvo farther south. But it is growing more
and more rerr.arkable that we see no sign of land. I can-
not explain it in any other way than that we are some
de<^Tees farther east than we suppose.* That we should
be so much farther west as to enable us to pass entirely
clear of Petermann's Land and Oscar's Land, and not so
much as get a glimpse of them, I consider an impossi-
bility. I have again looked at our former observations ;
have again gone through our dead reckoning, the velocity
* In point of fact, we were then about 6° farther east than we thought.
I had on April 14th, it will be remembered (compare my notes for that
dav\ surmised that the longitude I then set down (86" E.) was more west-
crly than that we were actually in.
A HARD STRUGGLE 227
and directions of the wind, and all the possibilities of
drift during the days which passed between our last cer-
tain observation for longitude (April 8th) and the day
when, according to the dead reckoning, we assumed our-
selves to be in longitude 86° E. (April 1 3th). That there
should be any great mistake is inconceivable. The ice
can hardly have had such a considerable drift during those
particular days, seeing that our dead reckoning in other
respects tallied so well with the observations.
" Yesterday evening ' Kvik ' was slaughtered. Poor
thing, she was quite worn out, and did little or nothing
in the hauling line. I was sorry to part with her, but
what was to be done ? Even if we should get fresh meat,
it would have taken some time to feed her up again, and
then, perhaps, we should have had no use for her, and
should only have had to kill her, after all. But a fine big
animal she was, and provided food for three days for our
remaining eight dogs.
" I am in a continual state of wonderment at the ice
we are now travelling over. It is flat and good, with
only smallish pieces of broken-up ice lying about, and a
large mound or small ridge here and there, but all of it
is ice which can hardly be winter-old, or at any rate has
been formed since last summer. It is quite a rarity to
come across a small tract of older ice, or even a single
old floe which has lain the summer through — so rare, in
fact, that at our last camping-place it was impossible to
find any ice which had been exposed to the summer sun.
228 FARTHEST NORTH
and consequently freed from salt. We were obliged to
be content with snow for our drinking-water.* Certain
it is that where these great expanses of flat ice come
from there was open water last summer or autumn, and
that of no little extent, as we have passed over many
miles of this compact ice the whole day yesterday and
a good part of the previous day, besides which there
were formerly a considerable number of such tracts in
between older, summer-old ice. There is little proba-
bility that this should have been formed in the vicinity
hereabouts. More probably it has come from farther
east or southeast, and was formed in open water on the
east side of Wilczek's Land. I believe, consequently,
that this must indicate that there can be not a little
open water along the east or northeast coast of Wilczek^s
Land in the summer or autumn months.^
'^ For melting water in the cooker it is better to use ice than snow,
particularly if the latter be not old and granular. Newly fallen snow gives
little water, and requires considerably more heat to warm it. That part
of salt-water ice which is above the surface of the sea, and, in particular,
prominent pieces which have been exposed to the rays of the sun during
a summer and are thus freed from the greater part of their salt, furnish
excellent drinking-water. Some expeditions have harbored the supersti-
tion that drinking-water from ice in which there was the least salt was
injurious. This is a mistake which cost, for instance, the members of
th^ JeanneiU expedition much unnecessary trouble, as they thought it im-
perative to distil the water before they could drink it without incurring
the risk of scurvy.
t As will be understood by our later discoveries, my surmises were not
quite correct. We really were at that time north or northeast of Wilc-
zek's Land, which seems to be only a little island. Meanwhile there must
have been extensive open water the previous autumn where this ice was
formed. But when it is shown later how much open water we saw on the
A HARD STRUGGLE 229
" Now followed a time when the lanes grew worse
than ever, and we began to toil in grim earnest. Lanes
and cracks went crosswise in every direction. The ice
was sometimes uneven, and the surface loose and heavy
between the irregularities.
" If one could get a bird's-eye view of this ice, the
lanes would form a veritable net-work of irregular meshes.
Woe to him who lets himself get entangled in it !
" Wednesday, May 29th. Yesterday I inaugurated a
great change, and began with *komager.' It was an
agreeable transition. One's feet keep nice and dry now,
and one is furthermore saved the trouble of attending
to the Finn shoes * night and morning. They were be-
ginning in this mild temperature to assume a texture
like our native * lefser,' a kind of tough rye-cake. Then,
too, one need no longer sleep with wet rags on one's
chest and legs to dry them."
That day we saw our first bird ; a fulmar {Procellaria
glacialis).
" Thursday, May 30th. At 5 o'clock yesterday morn-
ing we set forth with the buoyancy born of the belief
that now at last the whole network of lanes was behind
us ; but we had not gone far before the reflection of new
northwest coast of Franz Josef Land even in- winter, this can easily be im-
agined.
* Whereas Finn shoes are made of reindeer-skin with the hair on,
"komager" are made of under-tanned hide without hair, generally from
the ox or bearded seal (Phoca barbata\ with tops of reindeer-skin. They
are strong and water-proof. (See description of equipment.)
230 FARTHEST NORTH
channels appeared in front. I climbed up on to a hum-
mock as quickly as possible, but the sight which met my
eyes was anything but enlivening — lane after lane, cross-
ing and recrossing, in front of us and on each side, as far
as the eye could reach. It looked as if it mattered little
what direction we chose : it would be of no avail in get-
ting out of the maze. I made a long excursion on ahead
to see if there might not be a way of slipping through
and over on the consecutive flat sheets as we had done
before ; but the ice appeared to be broken up, and so it
probably is all the way to land. It was no longer with
the compact, massive polar ice that we had to deal, but
with thin, broken-up pack-ice, at the mercy of every wind
of heaven, and we had to reconcile ourselves to the idea
of scrambling from floe to floe as best we might. What
would I not have given at this moment for it to be March,
with all its cold and sufferings, instead of the end of May,
and the thermometer almost above 32° Fahr.? It was just
this end of May I had feared all along, the time at w^hich
I considered it of the greatest importance to have gained
land. Unhappily my fears proved to be well founded. I
almost began to wish that it was a month or more later;
the ice would then perhaps be slacker here, with more
open pools and lanes, so that in a measure one could
make one's way in a kayak. Well, w^ho could tell ?
This miserable thin young ice appeared to be utterly
treacherous, and there was a water-sky in every direction,
but mostly far, far ahead. If only we were there ! if only
A HARD STRUGGLE 231
we were under land ! Perhaps, if the worst should come
to the worst, we may be reduced to waiting till over the
time when the mild weather and break-up of the ice come
in earnest. But have we provisions enough to wait till that
time? This was, indeed, more than doubtful. ... As
I stood sunk in these gloomy reflections on the high
hummock, and looking southward over the ice, seeing
ridge after ridge and lane after lane before me, I sud-
denly heard the well-known sound of a whale blowing
from a lead close behind. It was the solution of my
troubles. Starve we should not ; there are animals here,
and we have guns, thank Heaven, and harpoons as well,
and we know how to use them. There was a whole
school of narwhals in the lane breathing and blowing
ceaselessly. As some high ice hid them from view for a
great part, I could only see their gray backs, now and
then, as they arched themselves over the black surface
of the water. I stood a long while looking at them, and
had I had my gun and harpoon, it would have been an
easy matter to get one. After all, the prospect was not
so bad at present; and meanwhile what we had to do
was not to mind lanes, but to keep on our course
S.W. or S.W. to S. over them, and push on the best
we could. And with that resolution I returned to the
sledges. Neither of us, however, had a very firm belief
that we should get much farther, and therefore all the
»
more elated did we become as our advance proved by de-
grees to be tolerably easy, in spite of our exhausted dogs.
232 FARTHEST NORTH
" While we were making our way during the morning
between some lanes I suddenly saw a black object come
rushing through the air ; it was a black guillemot ( Uria
grylle), and it circled round us several times. Not long
afterwards I heard a curious noise in a southwesterly
direction — something like the sound made by a goat's
horn when blown on ; I heard it many times, and
Johansen also remarked it, but I could not make out
what it was. An animal, at all events, it must be, as
human beings are hardly likely to be near us here.* A
little while later a fulmar came sailing towards us, and flew
round and round just over our heads. I got out my gun,
but before I had a cartridge in the bird had gone again.
It is beginning to grow lively here ; it is cheering to see
so much life, and gives one the feeling that one is ap-
proaching land and kindlier regions. Later on I saw a
seal on the ice ; it was a little ringed seal, which it would
have been a satisfaction to capture ; but before I had quite
made out which it was it had disappeared into the water.
"At ID o'clock we had dinner, which we shall no
longer eat in the bag, in order to save time. We have
also decided to shorten our marches to eight hours or so
in the day on account of the dogs. At 1 1 o'clock, after
dinner, we started off again, and at three stopped and
camped. I should imagine we went 7 miles yesterday,
or let me say between 12 and 15 during the last two
'*' It was undoubtedly from seals, which often utter a sound like a
protracted " ho !"
A HARD STRUGGLE 233
days, the direction being about southwest — every little
counts.
"In front of us on the horizon we have a water-sky, or
at any rate a reflection which is so sharply defined and
remains so immovable that it must either be over open
water or dark land ; our course just bears on it. It is a
good way off, and the water it is over can hardly be of
small extent; I cannot help thinking that it must be
under land. May it be so ! But between us, to judge by
the sky, there seem to be plenty of lanes.
"The ice is still the same nowadays, barely of the
previous winter's formation, where it is impossible to find
any suitable for cooking. It seems to me that it is here,
if possible, thinner than ever, with a thickness of from 2
to 3 feet. The reason of this I am still at a loss to ex-
plain.
" Friday, May 31st. It is wonderful; the last day of
May — this month gone too without our reaching land,
without even seeing it. June cannot surely pass in the
same manner — it is impossible that we can have far to
go now. I think everything seems to indicate this.
The ice becomes thinner and thinner, we see more and
more life around us, and in front is the same reflection of
water or land, whichever it may be. Yesterday I saw
two ringed seals {Phoca foetida) in two small lanes; a
bird, probably a fulmar, flew over a lane here yesterday
evening, and at midday yesterday we came on the fresh
tracks of a bear and two small cubs, which had followed
234 FARTHEST NORTH
the side of a lane. There seemed to be prospects of fresh
food in such surroundings, though, curiously enough,
neither of us has any particular craving for it; we are
quite satisfied with the food we have ; but for the dogs it
would be of great importance. We had to kill again last
night ; this time it was ' Pan,' our best dog. It could
not be helped ; he was quite worn out, and could not do
much more. The seven dogs we have left can now live
three days on the food he provided.
"This is quite unexpected: the ice is very much broken
up here — mere pack-ice, were it not for some large floes or
flat spaces in between. If this ice had time to slacken it
would be easy enough to row between the floes. Some-
times when we were stopped by lanes yesterday, and I
went up on to some high hummock to look ahead, my
heart sank within me, and I thought we should be
constrained to give up the hope of getting farther; it
was looking out over a very chaos of lumps of ice and
brash mixed together in open water. To jump from
piece to piece in such waters, with dogs and two heavy
sledges following one, is not exactly easy ; but by means
of investigation and experiment we managed eventually
to get over this lane too, and after going through rubble
for a while came on to flat ice again ; and thus it kept on
with new lanes repeatedly.
" The ice we are now travelling over is almost entirely
new ice with occasional older floes in between. It con-
tinues to grow thinner, here it is for the greater part
A HARD STRUGGLE 235
not more than 3 feet in thickness, and the floes are as
flat as when they were frozen. Yesterday evening, how-
ever, we got on to a stretch of old ice, on which we are
stationed now, but how far it extends it is difiicult to say.
We camped yesterday at half-past six in the evening and
found fresh ice again for the cooker, which was distinctly
a pleasant change for the cook. We have not had it
since May 25th.* A disagreeable wind from the south,
it is true, has sprung up this evening, and it will be hard
work going against it. We have a great deal of bad
weather here ; it is overcast nearly every day, with wind —
south wind, which, above everything, is least desirable just
now. But what are we to do ? To settle down we have
hardly provender enough; there is nothing for it, I sup-
pose, but to grind on.
" Took a meridian altitude to-day, and we should be
in 82° 21' N., and still no glimpse of land ; this is becom-
ing more and more of an enigma. What would I not
give to set my foot on dry land now.f^ But patience —
always patience."
♦ It was from about 82° 52' N. south to 82° 19' N. that we travelled
over young ice of this description ; that is to say, there must have been
open water over a distance of fully 32 English geographical miles (33' of
latitude). We also found ice of this kind farther south for a long dis-
tance, and the open sea must have been considerably greater.
■ <■<
:'i.*.r ~^r di/k iZ'i f-:ll- Hi'^ever. :he dav turned out
'- '-'^ 'rrv.i-r :-ji- -c txZ't'ZZttL Bv means of a detour
r: :hr - in'-t^L-: I ::'-r.d a passage across the lane, and
•at z'.: ',- :: 1:.-^. :^a: plains which we went over until
c-::--- rr.iddav. ArA from five this afternoon we had
ar.ithvr hour and a half of good ice, but that was the
end c: :: : a lane which ran in several directions cut off
ever/ means of advance, and although I spent more
than an hour and a half in looking for a crossing, none
was to be found. There was nothing for it but to camp,
and hope that the morrow would bring an improvement
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 237
Now the morrow has come, but whether the improve-
ment has come likewise, and the lane has closed more to-
gether, I do not yet know. We camped about nine yester-
day evening. As usual latterly, after nearly a whole day of
dismal snow, it suddenly cleared up as soon as we began
to pitch the tent. The wind also went down, and the
weather became beautiful, with blue sky and light white
clouds, so that one might almost dream one's self far away
to summer at home. The horizon in the west and south-
west was clear enough, but nothing to be seen except the
same water-sky, which we have been steering for, and,
happily, it is obviously higher, so we are getting under it.
If only we had reached it! Yonder there must be a
change ; that I have no doubt of. How I long for that
change !
" Curious how different things are. If we only reach
land before our provisions give out we shall think our-
selves well out of danger, while to Payer it stood for
certain starvation if he should have to remain there and
not find Tegethoff 2i^2\xi. But then he had not been
roaming about in the drift-ice between 83° and 86° for two
months and a half without seeing a living creature. Just
as were going to break up camp yesterday morning we
suddenly heard the angry cry of an ivory gull ; there,
above us, beautiful and white, were two of them sailing
right over our heads. I thought of shooting them, but it
seemed, on the whole, hardly worth while to expend a
cartridge apiece on such birds; they disappeared again,
238 FARTHEST NORTH
too, directly. A little while afterwards we heard them
again. As we were lying in the bag to-day and waiting
for breakfast we suddenly heard a hoarse scream over
the tent — something like the croaking of a crow. I
should imagine it must have been a gull {Larus argen-
tatus ?).
" Is it not curious } The whole night long, whenever
I was awake, did the sun smile in to us through our
silken walls, and it was so warm and light that I lay and
dreamed dreams of summer, far from lanes and drudgery
and endless toil. How fair life seems at such moments,
and how bright the future ! But no sooner do I turn out
to cook at half-past nine than the sun veils his counte-
nance and snow begins to fall. This happens nearly every
day now. Is it because he will have us settle down here
and wait, for the summer and the slackening of the ice
and open water will spare us the toil of finding a way
over this hopeless maze of lanes? I am loath, indeed,
that this should come to pass. Even if we could manage,
as far as provisions are concerned, by killing and eating
the dogs, and with a chance of game in prospect, our
arrival in Spitzbergen would be late, and we might not
improbably have to pass the winter there, and then those
at home would have another year to wait.
" Sunday, June 2d. So it is on Whitsunday that this
book* finishes. I could hardly have imagined that we
♦ It was the first diary I used on the sledge journey.
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 239
should Still be in the drift-ice without seeing land ; but
Fate wills otherwise, and she knows no mercy.
" The lane which stopped us yesterday did not close,
but opened wider until there was a big sea to the west of
us, and we were living on a floe in the midst of it with-
out a passage across anywhere. So, at last, what we
have so often been threatened with has come to pass:
we must set to work and make our kayaks seaworthy.
But first of all we moved the tent into a sheltered nook
of the hummock, where we are lying to, so that the wind
does not reach us, and we can imagine it is quite still
outside, instead of a regular ' mill-breeze ' blowing from
the southwest. To rip off the cover of my kayak and
get it into the tent to patch it was the work of a very
short time, and then we spent a comfortable, quiet Whit-
sunday evening in the tent. The cooker was soon going,
and we had some smoking-hot lobscouse for dinner, and
I hardly think either of us regretted he was not on the
move; it is undeniably good to make a halt sometimes.
The cover was soon patched and ready; then I had to
go out and brace up the frame of my kayak where
most of the lashings are slack and must be lashed over
again ; this will be no inconsiderable piece of work ;
there are at least forty of them. However, only a couple
of the ribs are split, so the framework can easily be made
just as good as before. Johansen also took the cover off
his kayak, and to-day it is going to be patched.
"When both the frames are put in order and the
240 FARTHEST NORTH
covers on we shall be ready to start afresh and to meet
every difficulty, be it lanes, pools, or open sea. It will,
indeed, be with a feeling of security that we shall set forth,
and there will be an end to this continual anxiety lest we
should meet with impassable lanes. I cannot conceive
that anything now can prevent us from soon reaching
REPAIRING THE KAVAKS
land. It can hardly be long now before we meet with
lanes and open water in which we can row. There will
be a difficulty with the remaining dogs, however, and it
will be a case of parting with them. The dogs' rations
were portioned out yesterday evening, and we still have
BV SLEDGE AND KAYAK 241
part of * Pan ' for supper ; but * Klapperslangen ' must go,
too. We shall then have six dogs, which, I suppose, we
can keep four days, and still get on a good way with
them.
"Whitsuntide! — there is something so lovely and
summer-like in the word. It is hard to think how
beautiful everything is now at home, and then to lie
here still, in mist and wind and ice. How homesick one
grows; but what good does it do.^^ Little Liv will go
to dinner with her grandmother to-day — perhaps they
are dressing her in a new frock at this very moment !
Well, well, the time will come when I can go with her;
but when? I must set to work on the lashings, and it
will be all right."
We worked with ardor during the following days to
get our kayaks ready, and even grudged the time for
eating. Twelve hours sometimes went by between each
meal, and our working day often lasted for twenty-four
hours. But all the same it took time to make these
kayaks fully seaworthy again. The worst of it was that
we had to be so careful with our materials, as the op-
portunities of acquiring more were not immoderately
abundant. When, for instance, a rib had to be relashed
we could not rip up the old lashing, but had to unwind
it carefully in order not to destroy the line; and when
there are many scores of such places to be relashed, this
takes time. Then, too, several of the bamboo ribs which
run along the side of the framework (particularly in
242 FARTHEST NORTH
Johansen's kayak) were split, and these had wholly or
partly to be taken out and new ones substituted, or to be
strengthened by lashings and side splints. When the
covers were properly patched, and the frames, after
several days' work, again in order, the covers were put
on and carefully stretched. All this, of course, had to be
done with care, and was not quick work ; but then we
had the satisfaction of knowing that the kayaks were
fully seaworthy, and capable, if need be, of weathering a
storm on the way over to Spitzbergen.
Meanwhile the time flew by — our precious time; but
then we hoped that our kayaks would render us im-
portant assistance, and that we should get on all the
quicker in them. Thus, on Tuesday, June 4th, I wrote
in my diary : " It seems to me that it cannot be long
before we come to open water or slack ice. The
latter is, hereabouts, so thin and broken up, and the
weather so summer-like. Yesterday the thermometer
was a little below freezing-point, and the snow which
fell was more like sleet than anything else; it melted
on the tent, and it was difficult to keep things from
getting wet inside; the walls dripped if we even went
near them. We had abominable weather the whole
day yesterday, with falling snow, but for the matter of
that we are used to it; we have had nothing else lately.
To-day, however, it is brilliant, clear blue sky, and the
sun has just come over the top of our hummock and
down into the tent. It will be a glorious day to sit out
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 243
and work in ; not like yesterday, when all one's tackle
got wet; it is worst of all when one is lashing, for then
one cannot keep the line taut. This sun is a welcome
friend ; I thought I was almost tired of it before when it
was always there ; but how glad we are to see it now, and
how it cheers one. I can hardly get it out of my head
that it is a glorious, fresh June morning home by the bay.
Only let us soon have water, so that we can use our
kayaks, and it will not be long before we are home.
" To-day,* for the first time on the whole of this
journey, we have dealt out rations for breakfast, both of
butter, If ounces, and aleuronate bread, 6f ounces. We
must keep to weights in order to be certain the pro-
visions will last out, and I shall take stock properly of
what we have left before we go farther.
" Happiness is, indeed, short - lived. The sun has
gone again, the sky is overcast, and snowflakes are be-
ginning to fall.
" Wednesday, June 5th. Still at the same spot, but
it is to be hoped it will not be long before we are able to
get off. The weather was fine yesterday, after all, and so
summer-like to sit out and work and bask in the sun ;
and then to look out over the water and the ice, with the
glittering waves and snow !
♦ Until this day we had eaten what we required without weighing out
rations. It proved that, after all, we did not eat more than what I had
originally allowed per day — />., i kilo, of dried food. We now reduced
these day's rations considerably.
244 FARTHEST NORTH
" Yesterday we shot our first game. It was an ivory
gull {Lams ebemieus), which went flying over the tent.
There were other gulls here, yesterday, too, and we saw
as many as four at once; but they kept at a distance. I
went after them once and missed my mark. One car-
tridge wasted; this must not be repeated. If we had
taken the trouble we could easily have got more gulls ;
but they are too small game, and it is also too early to
use up our ammunition. In the pool here I saw a seal,
and Johansen saw one too. We have both seen and
heard narwhals. There is life enough here, and if the
kayaks were in order, and we could row out on the
water, I have no doubt we could get something. How-
ever, it is not necessary yet. We have provisions
enough at present, and it is better to employ the time
in getting on, on account of the dogs, though it would
be well if we could get some big game, and not kill any
more of them until our ice journey is over and we
take to the kayaks for good. Yesterday we had to
kill ' Klapperslangen.' He gave twenty - five rations,
which will last the six remaining dogs four days. The
slaughtering was now entirely Johansen's business ; he
had achieved such celerity that with a single thrust of
my long Lapp knife he made an end of the animal, so
that it had no time to utter a sound, and after a few
minutes, with the help of the knife and our little axe, he
had divided the animal into suitable doles. As I men-
tioned before, we left the skin and hair on ; the former
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 245
was carefully eaten up, and the only thing left after the
dogs' meal was, as a rule, a tuft of hair here and there
on the ice, some claws, and, perhaps, a well-gnawed cra-
nium, the hard skull being too much for them.
" They are beginning to be pretty well starved now.
Yesterday ' Lilleraeven ' ate up the toe-strap (the reindeer-
skin which is placed under the foot to prevent the snow
from balling), and a little of the wood of Johansen's snow-
shoes, which the dog had pulled down on to the ice. The
late ' Kvik' ate up her sail-cloth harness, and I am not so
sure these others do not indulge in a fragment of canvas
now and then.
" I have just reckoned out our longitude according to
an observation taken with the theodolite yesterday, and
make it to be 61° 16.5' E. ; our latitude was 82° 17.8' N.
I cannot understand why we do not see land. The only
possible explanation must be that we are farther east than
we think, and that the land stretches southward in that
direction; but we cannot have much farther to go now.
Just at this moment a bird flew over us, which Johansen,
who is standing just outside the tent, took to be a kind
of sandpiper.
"Thursday, June 6th. Still on the same spot. I am
longing to get off, see what things look like, and have a
final solution of this riddle, which is constantly before me.
It will be a real pleasure to be under way again with whole
tackle, and I cannot help thinking that we shall soon be
able to use our kayaks in open water. Life would be
24^ FARTHEST NORTH
another thing then ! Fancy, to get clear for good of this
ice and these lanes, this toil with the sledges and endless
trouble with the dogs, only one's self in a light craft danc-
ing over the waves at play! It is almost too much to
think of. Perhaps we have still many a hard turn before
we reach it, many a dark hour; but some time it must
come, and then — then life will be life again !
" Yesterday, at last, we finished mending the frame-
work of both kayaks. We rigged up some plaited bam-
boo at the bottom of each to place the provisions on, in
order to prevent them from getting wet in case the ka-
yaks should leak. To-day we have only to go over them
again, test the lashings, and brace (support) those that
may require it, and finally put the covers on. To-morrow
evening I hope we shall get off. This repairing has
taken it out of the cord ; of our three balls we have rather
less than one left. This I am very anxious to keep, as we
may require it for fishing, and so forth.
" Our various provisions are beginning to dwindle.
Weighed the butter yesterday, and found that we only
had 5 pounds i ounce. If we reckon our daily ration at
i^ ounces per man it will last another 23 days, and by
that time we shall have gone a little farther. To-day, for
the first time, I could note down a temperature above
freezing-point — ^>., +35.6° Fahr. this morning. The
snow outside was soft all through, and the hummocks
are dripping. It will not be long now before we find
water on the floes. Last night, too, it absolutely rained.
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 247
It was only a short shower; first of all it drizzled, then
came large, heavy drops, and we took shelter inside the
tent in order not to get wet — but it was rain, rain ! It
was quite a summer feeling to sit in here and listen to
the drops splashing on the tent wall. As regards the
going, this thaw will probably be a good thing if we
should have frost again ; but if the snow is to continue
as it is now, it will be a fine mess to get through among
all these ridges and hummocks. Instead of such a con-
tingency, it would be better to have as much rain as pos-
sible, to melt and wash the ice clear of snow. Well,
well, it must do as it likes ! It cannot be long now be-
fore it takes a turn for the better — land or open water,
whichever it may be.
"Saturday, June 8th. Finished and tried the kayaks
yesterday at last, but only by dint of sticking to our
work from the evening of the day before yesterday to the
evening of yesterday. It is remarkable that we are able
to continue working so long at a stretch. If we were at
home we should be very tired and hungry, with so many
working hours between meals ; but here it does not seem
more than it should be, although our appetites certainly
are first-rate and our sleeping powers good. It does not
seem as if we were growing weak or sickening for scurvy
just yet. As a matter of fact, so far as I know, we are
unusually strong and healthy just now and in full
elasticity.
" When we tried the kayaks in a little lane just here
248 FARTHEST NORTH
we found them considerably leaky in the seams and also
in the canvas, from their rough usage on the way, but it
is to be hoped no more so than will be remedied when a
little soaking makes the canvas swell out. It will not
be agreeable to ferry over lanes and have to put our
kayaks dry and leaky on the water. Our provisions may
not improbably be reduced to a pulp ; but we shall have
to put up with that, too, like everything else.
"And so we really mean to get off to-day, after a
week's stay on the same spot. Yesterday the southeast
wind set in ; it has increased to-day and become rather
strong, to judge by the whistling round the hummocks
outside. I lay here this morning fancying I heard the
sound of breakers a little way off. All the lanes about
here closed yesterday, and there was little open water to
be seen. It is owing to this wind, I suppose, and if it is
going to close lanes for us, then let it blow on. The
snow is covered with a crust of ice, the going is as good
as possible, and the ice, it is to be hoped, is more or less
flat, so we shall be all right.
" Johansen shot another ivory gull yesterday, and we
had it and another one for dinner. It was our first taste
of fresh food, and was, it cannot be denied, very good ;
but all the same not so delightful as one would expect,
seeing that we have not had fresh meat for so many
months. It is a proof, no doubt, that the food we have is
also good.
"Weighed the bread yesterday; found we had 26
/ xr-/-
■ i'.\ik\ I.
■' = :m w ii
".» a
! ..
• I . f
I
V. i:.".
>t^
-lil to «.
t
-pot. \
• i-^'d [it r-
■A histiliivj
•■ ' 1 . .
1
- I! ■.
■ is lo :
I ' i f ;
1 'I'hi
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 249
pounds 4 ounces of wheaten bread and 17 pounds i
ounce of aleuronate bread ; so, for that matter, we can
manage for another thirty - five or forty days, and how
far we shall then have got the gods alone know, but
some part of the way it must be.
" Sunday, June 9th. We got away from our camping-
ground at last yesterday, and we were more than pleased.
In spite of the weather, which was as bad as it could be,
with a raging snow-storm from the east, we were both
glad to begin our wanderings again. It took some time
to fix grips under the kayaks, consisting of sack, sleep-
ing-bag, and blankets, and so load the sledges; but
eventually we made a start. We got well off the floe we
had lived on so long, and did not even have to use the
kayaks which we had spent a week in patching for that
purpose. The wind had carefully closed the lanes. We
found flat ice -country, and made good way in spite
of the most villanous going, with newly fallen snow,
which stuck to one's snow-shoes mercilessly, and in which
the sledges stood as if fixed to the spot as soon as they
stopped. The weather was such that one could not see
many hundred feet in front of one, and the snow which
accumulated on one's clothes on the weather-side wetted
one to the skin ; but still it was glorious to see ourselves
making progress — progress towards our stubborn goal.
We came across a number of lanes, and they were diffi-
cult to cross, with their complicated net-work of cracks
and ridges in all directions. Some of them were broad
2SO FARTHEST NORTH
and full of brash, which rendered it impossible to use
the kayaks. In some places, however, the brash was
pressed so tightly together that we could walk on it.
But many journeys to and fro are nearly always nec-
essary before any reasonable opportunity of advance is
to be found. This time is often long to the one who
remains behind with the dogs, being blown through or
wetted through meanwhile, as the case may be. Often,
when it seemed as if I were never coming back, did
Johansen think I had fallen through some lane and was
gone for good. As one sits there on the kayak,
waiting and waiting, and gazing in front of one into
solitude, many strange thoughts pass through one's
brain. Several times he climbed the highest hummock
near at hand to scan the ice anxiously ; and then, when
at last he discovered a little black speck moving about
on the white flat surface far, far away, his mind would
be relieved. As Johansen was waiting in this way yes-
terday, he remarked that the sides of the floe in front
of him were slowly moving up and down,* as they might
if rocked by a slight swell. Can open water be near.j^
Can it be that the great breakers from the sea have pene-
trated in here ? How willingly would we believe it ! But
perhaps it was only the wind which set the thin ice we
are now travelling over in wave-like motion. Or have we
really open water to the southeast } It is remarkable that
* It was probably pressure of the floes against each other which caused
this movement. We noticed the same motion several times later.
c
a
O
<
>
H
>
O
W
n
w
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 253
this wind welds the ice together, while the southwest wind
here a little while ago slackened it. When all is said, is
it possible that we are not far from the sea? I cannot
help thinking of the water-reflections we have seen on
the sky before us. Johansen has just left the tent, and
says that he can see the same reflection in the south ; it
is higher now, and the weather tolerably clear. What
can it be t Only let us go on and get there.
" We came across the track of a bear again yesterday.
How old it was could not easily be determined in this
snow, which obliterates everything in a few minutes ; but
it was probably from yesterday, for * Haren' directly after-
wards got scent of something and started off against
the wind, so that Johansen thought the bear must be
somewhere near. Well, well, old or new, a bear was
there while we were a little farther north, stitching at
the kayaks, and one day it will come our way, too, no
doubt! The gull which Johansen shot brought up a
large piece of blubber when it fell, and this tends to con-
firm us in the belief that bears are at hand, as it hardly
could have done so had it not been in such company.
" The weather was wet and wretched, and, to make
things w^orse, there was a thick mist, and the going was
as heavy as could be. To go on did not seem very
attractive ; but, on the other hand, a halt for dinner in
this slush was still less so. We therefore continued a
little while longer and stopped at 10 o'clock for good.
What a welcome change it was to be under the tent
254 FARTHEST NORTH
again ! And the * fiskegratin' was delicious. It gives one
such a sense of satisfaction to feel that, in spite of every-
thing, one is making a little way. The temperature is
beginning to be bad now; the snow is quite wet, and
some water has entered my kayak, which I suppose melted
on the deck and ran down through the open side where
the lacing is, which we have not yet sewn fast. We are
waiting for good weather in order to get the covers
thoroughly dry first, and then stretch them well.
" Monday, June loth. In spite of the most impene-
trable mist and the most detestable going on soppy
snow, which has not yet been sufficiently exposed to frost
to become granular, and where the sledges rode their
very heaviest, we still managed to make good, even
progress the whole day yesterday. There were innumer-
able lanes, of course, to deal with, and many crossings
on loose pieces of ice, which we accomplished at a pinch.
But the ice is flat here everywhere, and every little
counts. It is the same thin winter -ice of about three
feet in thickness. I only saw a couple of old floes yes-
terday— they were in the neighborhood of our camping-
ground, which was also on an old floe; otherwise the
ice is new, and in places very new. We went over some
large expanses yesterday of ice one foot or less in thick-
ness. The last of these tracts in particular was very
remarkable, and must at one time have been an immense
pool ; the ice on it was so thin that it cannot be long
before it melts altogether. There was water on all this
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 255
ice, and it was like walking through gruel. As a matter
of fact, the ice about here is nothing else but pure broken-
up sea-ice, consisting of large and small floes, not infre-
quently very small floes closely aggregated ; but when
they have the chance of slackening they will spread over
the whole sea hereabouts, and we shall have water enough
to row in any direction we please.
"The weather seems to-day to be of the same kind
as yesterday, with a southwest wind, which is tearing
and rattling at the tent walls. A thaw and wet snow.
I do not know if we shall get any more frost, but it would
make the snow in splendid condition for our snow-shoes.
I am afraid, however, that the contrary will rather be
the case, and that we shall soon be in for the worst
break-up of the winter. The lanes otherwise are be-
ginning to improve ; they are no longer so full of brash
and slush; it is melting away, and bridges and such-
like have a better chance of forming in the clearer
water.
'* We scan the horizon unremittingly for land every
time there is a clear interval; but nothing, never any-
thing, to be seen. Meanwhile we constantly see signs
of the proximity of land or open water. The gulls
increase conspicuously in number, and yesterday we saw
a little auk {Mergulus alle) in a lane. The atmosphere
in the south and southwest is always apt to be dark, but
the weather has been such that we can really see nothing.
Yet I feel that the solution is approaching. But, then,
2S6 , FARTHEST NORTH
how long have I not thought so ? There is nothing for
it but the noble virtue of patience.
"What beautiful ice this would have been to travel
over in April before all these lanes were formed — endless
flat plains! For the lanes, as far as we know, are all
newly formed ones, with some ridges here and there,
which are also new.
'* Tuesday, June nth. A monotonous life this on
the whole, as monotonous as one can well imagine it —
to turn out day after day, week after week, month
after month, to the same toil, over ice which is some-
times a little better, sometimes a little worse, (it now
seems to be steadily getting worse), always hoping to
see an end to it, but always hoping in vain — ever the
same monotonous range of vision over ice, and again ice.
No sign of land in any direction and no open water, and
now we should be in the same latitude as Cape Fligely,
or at most a couple of minutes farther north. We do
not know where we are, and we do not know when this
will end. Meanwhile our provisions are dwindling day
by day, and the number of our dogs is growing seriously
less. Shall we reach land while we yet have food, or shall
we, when all is said, ever reach it } It will soon be im-
possible to make any way against this ice and snow. The
latter is only slush ; the dogs sink through at every step,
and we ourselves splash through it up above our knees
when we have to help the dogs or take a turn at the
heavy sledges, which happens frequently. It is hard to
Hy SLEDGE AND KAYAK 257
go on hoping in such circumstances, but still we do so;
though sometimes, perhaps, our hearts fail us when we
see the ice lying before us like an impenetrable maze of
ridges, lanes, brash, and huge blocks thrown together
pell-mell, and one might imagine one's self looking at
" A CURDLED SEA
suddenly congealed breakers. There are moments when
it seems impossible that any creature not possessed of
wings can get farther, and one longingly follows the flight
of a passing gull, and thinks how far away one would
soon be could one borrow its wings. But then, in spite
of everything, one finds a way, and hope springs eternal.
258 FARTHEST NORTH
Let the sun peep out a moment from the bank of clouds,
and the ice-plains glitter in all their whiteness; let the
sunbeams play on the water, and life seems beautiful in
spite of all, and worthy a struggle.
"It is wonderful how little it takes to give one fresh
courage. Yesterday I found dead in a lane a little polar
cod {Gadus polaris), and my eyes, I am sure, must have
shone with pleasure when I saw it. It was real treasure-
trove. Where there is fish in the water one can hardly
starve, and before I crept into the tent this morning I
set a line in the lane beside us. But what a number of
these little fish it would require to feed one ; many more
in one day than one could catch in a week, or perhaps in
a month! Yet one is hopeful, and lies counting the
chances of there being larger fish in the water here, and
of being able to fish to one s heart's content.
" Advance yesterday was more difficult than on the
previous days, the ice more uneven and massive, and in
some places with occasional old floes in between. We
were stopped by many bad lanes, too, so did not make
much way — I am afraid not more than three or four miles.
I think we may now reckon on being in latitude 82° 8'
or 9^ N. if this continual southeast wind has not sent
us northward again. The going is getting worse and
worse. The snow is water -soaked to the bottom, and
will not bear the dogs any longer, though it has become
a little more granular lately, and the sledges run well on
it when they do not cut through, which happens continu-
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 259
ally, and then they are almost immovable. It is heavy
for the dogs, and would be so even if they were not so
wretchedly worn out as they are ; they stop at the slight-
est thing, and have to be helped or driven forward with
the whip. Poor animals, they have a bad time of it!
* Lilleraeven,' the last of my original team, will soon be
unable to go farther — and such a good animal to haul !
We have 5 dogs left (* Lilleraeven,' * Storraeven,' and
* Kaifas' to my sledge, *Suggen' and * Haren ' to Johan-
sen's). We still have enough food for them for three
days, from ' Isbjon,' who was killed yesterday morning ;
and before that time Johansen thinks the riddle will be
solved. Vain hope, I am afraid, although the water-sky
in the southeast or south-southeast (magnetic) seems al-
ways to keep in the same position and has risen much
higher.
" We began our march at half -past six yesterday
afternoon, and stopped before a lane at a quarter-past
three this morning. I saw fresh-water pools on the
ice under some hummocks yesterday for the first time.
Where we stopped, however, there were none to be
found, so we had to melt water again this morning; but
it will not often be necessary hereafter, I hope, and we
can save our oil, which, by-the-way, is becoming alarm-
ingly reduced. Outside, the weather and snow are the
same ; no pleasure in turning out to the toils of the day.
I lie here thinking of our June at home — how the sun is
shining over forest and fjord and wooded hills, and there
26o FARTHEST NORTH
is — But some time we shall get back to life, and thea
it will be fairer than it has ever been before.
"Wednesday, June 12th. This is getting worse and
worse. Yesterday we did nothing, hardly advanced more
than a mile. Wretched snow, uneven ice, lanes, and
villanous weather stopped us. There was certainly a
crust on the snow, on which the sledges ran well when
they were on it ; but when they broke through — and
they did it constantly — they stood immovable. This
crust, too, was bad for the dogs, poor things ! They sank
through it into the deep snow between the irregulari-
,ties, and it was like swimming through slush for them.
But all the same we made way. Lanes stopped us, it
is true, but we cleared them somehow. Over one of
them, the last, which looked nasty, we got by making a
bridge of small floes, which we guided to the narrowest
place. But then a shameless storm of wet snow, or, more
correctly, sleet, with immense flakes, set in, and the wind
increased. We could not see our way in this labyrinth
of lanes and hummocks, and were as soaked as ducked
crows, as we say. The going was impossible, and the
sledges as good as immovable in the wet snow, which
was soon deep enough to cling to our 'ski' underneath
in great lumps, and prevent them from running. There
was hardly any choice but to find a camping-ground as
soon as possible, for to force one s way along in such
weather and on such snow, and make no progress, was
of little use. We found a good camping -ground and
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 261
pitched our tent after only four hours' march, and went
without our dinner to make up.
" Here we are, then, hardly knowing what to do next.
What the going is like outside I do not know yet, but
probably not much better than yesterday, and whether
we ought to push on the little we can, or go out and
try to capture a seal, I cannot decide. The worst of
it is that there do not seem to be many seals in the
ice where we now are. We have seen none the last
few days. Perhaps it is too thick and compact for
them (?). The ice here is strikingly different in char-
acter from that we have been travelling over of late. It
is considerably more uneven, for one thing, with mounds
and somewhat old ridges — among them some very large
ones. Nor does it look so very old — in general, I
should say, of last winter's formation, though there are
occasional old floes in between. They appear to have
been near land, as clay and earthy matter are frequently
to be seen, particularly in the newly formed ridges.
"Johansen, who has gone out, says the same water-
sky is to be seen in the south. Why is it we cannot
reach it ? But there it is, all the same, an alluring goal
for us to make for, even if we do not reach it very soon.
We see it again and again, looking so blue and beau-
tiful ; for us it is the color of hope.
" Friday, June 14th. It is three months to-day since
we left the Fram, A quarter of a year have we been
wandering in this desert of ice, and here we are still.
262 FARTHEST NORTH
When we shall see the end of it I can no longer form
any idea; I only hope whatever may be in store for us
is not very far off, open water or land — Wilczek Land,
Zichy Land, Spitzbergen, or some other country.
" Yesterday was not quite so bad a day as I expected.
We really did advance, though not very far — hardly more
than a couple of miles — but we must be content with
that at this time of year. The dogs could not manage
to draw the sledges alone ; if there was nobody beside
them they stopped at every other step. The only thing
to be done was to make a journey to and fro, and thus
go over the ground three times. While I went on ahead
to explore, Johansen drove the sledges as far as he
could ; first mine, and then back again after his own. By
that time I had returned and drove my own sledge as far
as I had found a way ; and then this performance was
repeated all over again. It was not rapid progress, but
progress it was of a kind, and that was something. The
ice we are going over is anything but even ; it is still
rather massive and old, with hummocks and irregularities
in every direction, and no real flat tracts. When, added
to this, after going a short distance, we came to a place
where the ice was broken up into small floes, with high
ridges and broad lanes filled with slush and brash, so
that the whole thing looked like a single mass of debris,
where there was hardly standing-room, to say nothing of
any prospect of advance, it was only human to lose cour-
age and give up, for the time being, trying to get on.
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK ^65
Wherever I turned the way was closed, and it looked as
if advance was denied us for good. To launch the
kayaks would be of no avail, for we could hardly expect
to propel them through this accumulation of fragments,
and I was on the point of making up my mind to wait
and try our luck with the net and line, and see if we
could not manage to find a seal somewhere in these
lanes.
" These are moments full of anxiety, when from some
hummock one looks doubtingly over the ice, one's
thoughts continually reverting to the same question:
have we provisions enough to wait for the time when the
snow will have melted and the ice have become slacker
and more intersected with lanes, so that one can row be-
tween the floes "i Or is there any probability of our be-
ing able to obtain sufficient food, if that which we have
should fall short } These are great and important ques-
tions which I cannot yet answer for certain. That it will
take a long time before all this snow melts away and ad-
vance becomes fairly practicable is certain ; at what time
the ice may become slacker, and progress by means of the
lanes possible, we cannot say ; and up to this we have
taken nothing, with the exception of two ivory gulls and
a small fish. We did, indeed, see another fish swimming
near the surface of the water, but it was no larger than
the other. Where we are just now there seems to be
little prospect of capturing anything. I have not seen a
single seal the last few days; though yesterday I saw the
266
FARTHEST NORTH
snowed-down track of a bear. Meanwhile we see ivory
gulls continually ; but they are still too small to be worth
a cartridge ; yesterday, however, I saw a large gull, prob-
ably Larus argentatus.
" I determined to make one more attempt to get on
by striking farther east, and this time I was successful
in finding a passage across by way of a number of small
floes. On the other side there was rather old compact
ice, partially of formation a summer old, which seemed
to have been near land, as it was irregular, and much
intermixed with earthy matter. We have travelled over
this ice-field ever since without coming on lanes ; but it
was uneven, and we came to grief several times. In
other places again it was pretty good.
" We began our march at 8 o'clock on Wednesday
afternoon, and halted here at 5 o'clock this morning.*
Later on in the forenoon the wind went over to the
northeast and the temperature fell. The snow froze
hard, and eventually the going became pretty good. The
crust on the snow bore the dogs up, and also the sledges
to a certain extent, and we looked forward to good going
on the following day; but in this we were doomed to
disappointment. No sooner had we got inside the tent
than it began to snow, and kept briskly at it the whole
day while we slept; and yesterday evening, when we
♦ We found water on the ice here suitable for cooking for the first
time. It was, however, somewhat salt, so that the " fiskegratin " was too
well seasoned.
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 267
turned out to get breakfast ready and start off, it was
still snowing, and deep, loose snow covered everything —
a state of things bad beyond description. There was
no sense in going on, and we decided to wait and see
how matters would turn out. Meanwhile we were
hungry, but a full breakfast we could not afford, so
I prepared a small portion of fish soup, and we re-
turned to the bag again — Johansen to sleep on, I to
rereckon all my observations from the time we left
the Fram, and see if some error might not explain
the mystery why no land was yet to be found. The
sun had partially appeared, and I tried, though in vain,
to take an observation. I stood waiting for more than
an hour with the theodolite up, but the sun went in
again and remained out of sight. I have calculated
and calculated and thought and thought, but can find
no mistake of any importance, and the whole thing is
a riddle to me. I am beginning seriously to doubt
that we may be too far west, after all. I simply can-
not conceive that we are too far east; for in such a
case we cannot, at any rate, be more than 5° farther
east than our observations* make us. Supposing, for in-
stance, that our watches have gone too fast, *Johann-
sen ' t cannot, at all events, have gained more than
* As it proved later, we were, in reality, about 6° farther east than we
thought.
1 1 called my watch thus after Johannsen, the watchmaker in London
who supplied it.
268 FARTHEST NORTH
double its previous escapement. I have assumed an
escapement of five seconds ; but supposing that the
escapement has been ten seconds, this does not make
more difference than 6' 40" in eighty days (the time
from our departure from the Fram till the last ob-
servation)— that is, 1° 40' farther east than we ought to
be. Assuming, too, that I have calculated our days'
marches at too great length, in the days between April
8th and 13th, and that instead of 36 English geograph-
ical miles, or, rather, more than 40 statute miles, we
have only gone 24 English geographical miles, or 28
statute miles (less we cannot possibly have gone), we
should then have been in 89° E. instead of 86° E. on
the 13th, as we supposed. That is 3° farther east, or
with the figures above, let us say together 5° farther
east — i.e., we now instead of being in longitude 61° E.
should be in 66° E.,* or about 70 miles from Cape Flige-
ly. But it seems to me we ought to see land south of
us just the same. Wilczek Land cannot be so low and
trend suddenly so far to the south, when Cape Buda-
pest is said to lie in about 61° E. and 82° N., and
should thus be not so much as 50 miles from us. No,
this is inconceivable. On the other hand, it is not any
easier to suppose ourselves west of it ; we must have
drifted very materially between April 8th and 13th, or
* In reality we were somewhat near the point I here assume (we were in
67** E., approximately). The reason why we did not see the land here
mentioned was because it does not exist, as was proved later.
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 269
my watch must have stopped for a time before April 2d.
The observations from April 2d, 4th, and 8th seem, in-
deed, to indicate that we drifted considerably westward.
On the 2d we appeared to be in 103° 6' E., on the 4th
in 99° 59' E., and April 8th in 95° 7' E. Between these
dates there were no marches of importance ; between
the observations on the 2d and the 4th there was only
a short half-day s march ; and between the 4th and the
7th a couple, which amounted to nothing, and could only
have carried us a little westward. This is as much as
to say that we must have drifted 8°, or let us reckon at
any rate 7°, westward in the six days and nights. As-
suming that the drift was the same during the five days
and nights between the 8th and 13th, we then get 7°
farther west than we suppose. We should consequently
now be in 54"^ E., instead of in 61° E., and not more
than 36 to 40 miles from Cape Fligely, and close by
Oscar s Land. We ought to see something of them, I
think. Let us assume meanwhile that the drift west-
ward was strong in the period before April 2d also, and
grant the possibility that my watch did stop at that time
(which, I fear, is not excluded), and we may then be any
distance west for all we can tell. It is this possibility
which I begin to think of more and more. Meanwhile,
apparently there is nothing for it but to continue as we
have done already — perhaps a little more south — and a
solution must come.
" When, after having concluded my calculations, I had
^T" FAI:THEST jrO£TH
rryiitrra'':: if the srioir w^yred to 'le n-:
raciitr irorse. The r.er ^"-ot tss wtz an-d sti-cirr a^d
Tine gccsg as bea-.y a^ h irell ooul-d be. Hiw^cTner. it
ira* TJtoessarv to n;ake an atten:pt to zei on : ^ert was
nodbiijg gained by waitiag there, and prT>gTS5s 3 prog-
ress be it ever 50 liu!e.
" I took a single altitude about midday, but it was not
** Saturday. June 15th. The middle of June, and still
DO proq>ect of an end to this : things only became worse
instead. So bad as yesterday, though, it had never
been, and worse, happily, it can hardly be. The sledges
ran terribly hea\'v in the loose, wet newlv fallen snow,
which was deep to boot; and sometimes when they
stopped — and that was continually — they stuck as if
g^ued to the spot. It was all we could do to move them
when we pushed with all our might Then to this was
added the fact that one's snow-shoes ran equally badly,
and masses of snow collected underneath them the
minute one stopped ; one's feet kept twisting continually
from this, and ice formed under them, so that one sud-
denly slid ofif the snow-shoes and into the snow, till far
above one's knees, when one tried to pull or help the
sledges; but there was nothing for it but to scramble
up and on to them again. To wade along in such snow
without them is an impossibilit}% and, as I have said
before, though fastening them on securely would have
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 271
been a better plan, yet it would have been too trouble-
some, seeing that we had to take them off continually to
get the sledges over ridges and lanes. In addition to all
this, wherever one turns, the ice is uneven and full of
mounds and old ridges, and it is only by wriggling along
like an eel, so to speak, that one can get on at all.
There are lanes, too, and they compel one to make
long detours or go long distances over thin, small floes,
ridges, and other abominations. We struggled along,
however, a little way, working on our old plan of two
turns, but a quick method it could not be called.
The dogs are becoming more and more worn out.
* Lilleraeven,' the last survivor of my team, can now
hardly walk — hauling there is no question of: he stag-
gers like a drunken man, and when he falls can hardly
rise to his feet again. To-day he is going to be killed,
I am thankful to say, and one will be spared seeing
him. * Storraeven,' too, is getting very slack in the
traces; the only one of mine which pulls at all is 'Kaifas,*
and that is only as long as one of us is helping behind.
To keep on longer in such circumstances is only wear-
ing out men and dogs to no purpose, and is also using
up more provender than is necessary. We therefore re-
nounced dinner, and halted at about ten yesterday even-
ing, after having begun the march at half -past four
in the afternoon. I had, however, stopped to take an
observation on the way. It is not easy to get hold of
the sun nowadays, and one must make the most of him
--•^-^-o.- /.vrjiy
: ^^re^::^ irnr zrmng clouds ; clear
-^^---** -^*~— '-'*-''— alter an uncon-
>.-:-irL: -^-l it:: o^.-r -i-.z^ p— up the instrument
::i %'x:r i rr^r - c r.rr-zs. 1 r-.i! y gx ^ wretched single
• it^iirz^y tv-~:r.i: . r^^Cji.T.r:! o-: these observa-
::.-^r.> ar:: r.r.r. :ri: .vr,:nr% :: ;ur expectations, we
hiw irlttei sr-v.r.5:.;. \\^?<rA iri. ha\-:r.i: come from 61°
ir E- \%h:.v. \v^ V v.r \^ncr-:i-. or, June 4th, right to
abou: 5-' ^o E. Hu: :her. \re hive also drifted a
govxi way r.or.h agair.. up :o S^-' 20 N« after being
cowr. in Sr* 17.> on the sanie date, and we have been
pushing southward a> h.\rd a> we cou'd the whole time.
However, wc .ire glad to <ee that there is so much move-
n.^n: ::: the icc for then there is hope of our drifting
ou: eventually i^'wards open water; for that we can get
thL-rc bv 4»ur own enorts alone over this sh^Kkinsj ice I
an^ beginning a- doubt. This country and this going
arc toi» bad. ai^d my hope now is in lanes and slack ice.
Hapi)i!y, a northeast wind has sprung up. Yesterday
tlierc wa> a t^e^h breeze from the north-nortliwest (mag-
netic;, and the same again to-day. Only let it blow on;
if it has set us northwest it can also set us si>uthwest,
and eventually out towards our goal — towards Franz
Josef Land or Spitzbergen. I doubt more than ever
our being east of Cape Fligcly after this observation,
and I begin to believe more and more in the possibility
that the first land we shall see — if we see any, and I
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 273
hope we may — will be Spitzbergen. In that case we
should not even get a glimpse of Franz Josef Land,
the land of which I have dreamed golden dreams
day and night. But still, if it is not to be, then well and
good. Spitzbergen is good enough, and if we are as far
west as we seem to be, I have greater hope than before
of finding slacker ice and open water; and then for
Spitzbergen ! But there is still a serious question to
be faced, and that is to procure ourselves enough food
for the journey.
" I have slept here some time on purpose, after hav-
ing spent a good while on my calculations and specula-
tions as to our drift and our future. We have nothing
to hurry for in this state of the snow; it is hardly better
to-day than it was yesterday, and then, on account of
the mild temperature, it is better to travel by night than
by day. The best thing to do is to spin out the time
as long as possible without consuming more than abso-
lutely necessary of the provisions; the summer cannot
but improve matters, and we have still three months
of it before us. The question is, can we procure our-
selves food during that time ? It would be strange, I
think, if we could not. There are birds about continu-
ally ; I saw another large gull yesterday, probably the
herring or silver gull (Lams argeniaiiis)\ but to sup-
port life for any length of time on such small fry we
have not cartridges enough. On seal or bear all my
hopes are fixed; just one before our provisions give
11.— 18
274 FARTHEST NORTH
out, and the evil hour is warded off for a long time to
come.
** Sunday, June i6th. Yesterday was as bad as it
well could be — the surface enough to make one desper-
ate and the ice rough. I very much doubted whether
the wisest thing would not be to kill the dogs and keep
them as food for ourselves, and trj- to make our way on
as best we could without them. In that manner we
should have provender for fifteen or perhaps twenty days
longer, and should be able to make some progress at
the same time. There does not seem much to be done
in that line, however, and perhaps the right thing to
do is to wait. But, on the other hand, perhaps, it is
not far to land or open water, or, at any rate, to slack
ice, and then every mile we can make southward is of
importance. I have therefore come to the conclusion
that we must use the dogs to get on with as best we
can — perhaps there will be a change before we expect it ;
if nothing else, then, perhaps, some better ice, like that
wc had before. Meanwhile we were obliged to kill
two dogs yesterday. * Lilleraeven ' could hardly go when
wc started ; his legs seemed to be quite paralyzed, and
lie fell down and could not get up again. After I had
dragged him and the sledge for a time and had tried in
vain to make him go, I had to put him on the load, and
wlu*n wc came to some hummocks where there was
shelter from the north wind, Johansen killed him, while I
went forward to find a way. Meanwhile my other dog.
BV SLEDGE AND KAYAK 275
• Storraeven/ was in almost as bad a plight. Haul he
could not, and the difficulty was to make him go on so
that he was not dragged with the sledge. He went a
little way, stumbling and falling, and being helped up
repeatedly; but soon he was just as bad as * Lilleraeven '
had been, lagged behind, got the traces under the sledge
runners, and was dragged with it. As I thought I had
enough to do in hauling the sledge, I let him go, in the
hope that he would, at any rate, follow us. He did so
for a little while, but then stopped behind, and Johansen
was compelled to fetch him and put him on his load, and
when we camped he was killed too.
" * Kaifas ' is the only dog I have left to help me haul
my sledge, and Johansen has * Haren' and ' Suggen.* We
have rations for them for ten days from the two slaugh-
tered dogs, but how far we shall be able to get with them
the gods alone know. Not very far, I am afraid. Mean-
while our hitherto somewhat primitive method of hauling
had to be improved on. With two dog-harnesses we ac-
cordingly made ourselves proper hauling-gear,* and there-
♦ A proper hauling harness is an important item, and in the long run
is much less trying than the ordinary hauling strap or rope crosswise over
the chest and one shoulder. The form of harness I use consists of two
straps, which are passed over both shoulders, like the straps of a knap-
sack, and are fastened crosswise over the back to a leather belt, where
the hauling-rope from the sledge is also attached. It is thus in one's
power during the work of hauling to distribute the strain equally between
both shoulders and the belt (/>., the thighs and abdomen). The hauling
* centre of gravity " is in this manner lower in the body, just above the
legs, which do the work, and the hauling-rope does not, as is usually the
case, press only on the upper part of the body.
276 FARTHEST NORTH
with all idea of using snow-shoes not securely fastened on
had to be abandoned. One's feet twisted and slipped and
slid off the snow-shoes and deep down into the bottomless
snow, which, in addition, turned to ice under our feet, and
with our smooth komager soles was as slippery as eelskin
to stand on. Then we fastened them on, and where the
ice was even it really was possible to drag the sledge, even
with only one dog beside one. I saw that, given passable
snow and passable country to work on, we could make
some progress during the day, though as soon as there
was the slightest irregularity in the ice the sledges stood
perfectly still. It was necessary to strain at the harness
all one knew, and then perhaps fail to make the sledge
budge an inch. Then back one had to go to it, and after
exerting one's strength to the utmost it would finally
glide over the obstacle and on towards a new one, where
exactly the same process had to be gone through. If it
was wished to turn the sledge in the deep snow where it
stood embedded, matters were no better; it was only by
lifting it bodily that one could get it on at all. So we
went on step by step until perhaps we came on a small
extent of level ice where we could increase the pace. If,
however, we came on lanes and ridges, things were worse
than ever; one man cannot manage a sledge alone, but
two must be put to each sledge. Then when we have
followed up the track I have marked out beforehand I
have to start off again and find a way between the
hummocks. To go direct, hauling the sledge, is not
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 279
advisable where the ice is uneven, as it only means get-
ting into difficulties and being constrained eventually
to turn back. In this way we are grinding along, but it
goes without saying that speed and long marches are not
the order of the day. But still, as it is we make a little
way, and that is better than nothing ; it is, besides, the
only thing we can do, seeing that it is impossible to crawl
into a lair and hibernate for a month or so till progress is
possible again.
" To judge by the sky, there must be a number of
lanes in the south and southwest. Perhaps our trying
mode of advance is leading us to something better. We
began at about ten yesterday evening, and stopped at six
this morning. We have not had dinner the last few days,
in order to save a meal, as we do not think this ice and our
progress generally are worth much food. With the same
object, we this morning collected the blood of * Storraeven '
and converted it into a sort of porridge instead of the
* fiskegratin.' It was good, even if it was only dog's
blood, and at any rate we have a portion of fish flour to
the good. Before we turned into the bag last night we
inspected our cartridges, and found, to our joy, that we
had 148 shot-gun cartridges, 181 rifle cartridges, and in
addition 14 spherical - shot cartridges. With so much
ammunition, we should be able to increase our provisions
for some time to come, if necessary; for if nothing else
should fall to our guns there would always be birds, and
148 birds will go a long way. If we use half -charges
28o FARTHEST NORTH
we can eke out cur ammunition still further. We have,
moreover, half a pound of gunpowder and some spherical
shot for the rifles, also caps for reloading the cartridges.
This discovery has put me in good spirits, for, truth to
tell, I did not think our prospects were inordinately
bright. We shall now, perhaps, be able to manage for
three months, and within that time something must hap-
pen. In addition to what we can shoot, we can also
catch gulls with a hook, and if the worst should come to
the worst, and we set seriously to work, we can probably
take some animalcula and the like with the net. It may
happen that we shall not get to Spitzbergen in time to
find a vessel, and must winter there, but it will be a life
of luxury compared with this in the drift-ice, not knowing
where we are nor whither drifting, and not seeing our
goal, be it never so far away. I should not like to have
this time over again. We have paid dearly for letting
our watches run down that time. If there was no one
waiting at home, a winter in Spitzbergen would be quite
enticing. I lie here and dream of how comfortably and
well we could manage there. Everything outside of this
ice seems rosy, and out of it we shall be some time or
other. We must comfort ourselves with the adage that
night is darkest before the dawn. Of course it somewhat
depends on how dark the night is to be, and considerably
darker than it is now it might very well be. But our
hopes are fixed on the summer. Yes, it must be better
as summer gradually comes on."
BV SLEDGE AND KAYAK 28 1
So on we went forward; and day after day we were
going through exactly the same toil, in the same heavy
snow, in which the sledges stuck fast ceaselessly. Dogs
and men did their best, but with little effect, and in ad-
dition we began to be uneasy as to our means of sub-
sistence. The dogs' rations were reduced to a minimum,
to enable us to keep life going as long as possible. We
were hungry and toil-worn from morning to night and
from night to morning, all five of us. We determined to
shoot whatever came in our way, even gulls and fulmars;
but now, of course, none of this game ever came within
range.
The lanes grew worse and worse, filled generally with
slush and brash. We were often compelled to go long
distances over nothing but small pieces, where one went
through continually. On June i8th "a strong wind from
the west (magnetic) sprang up, which tears and rattles at
the tent. We are going back, I suppose, whence we came,
only farther north perhaps. So we are buffeted by wind
and current, and so it will go on, perhaps, the whole sum-
mer through, without our being able to master it." A
meridian altitude that day made us in 82° 19' N., so we
had come down again a little. I saw and shot a couple of
fulmars and a Briinnichs guillemot ( C/r/V? drunmc/in)y B.nd
these eked out our rations; but, to our distress, I fired at a
couple of seals in the lanes and missed my mark. How
we wished we could get hold of such a prize ! " Meanwhile
there is a good deal of life here now," I write on June 20th.
Z\2 FAirE:ESZ J'ls.ZH
• XJirrirt 2.'-k:* rj 'zsixilc^'krt imi f:rinr£ b: n:inibers. and
t'rr.t iicr: it :• -:i:*.t i "Lessirr t: fet tn-erru but a pity
rj!e. I: is rerTisriAb-le biT red-life his :::crea5ed since
the west w:-<i set :- the csrj bcfcDc yesterday. It is par-
ticularly striking h«:>w the linle a:iks have suddenly ap-
peared in m}Tiads; they whiz past the tent here with
their cheerj- twitter, and it gives one the feeling of hav-
ing come down to more hospitable regions. This sud-
den finding of Briinnich s guillemots seems also curi-
ous, but it does no good. Land is not to be descried,
and the snow is in as wretched a condition as it can be.
A proper thaw, so that the snow can disappear more
quickly, does not come. Yesterday morning before
breakfast I went for a walk southward to see what were
our chances of advance. The ice was flat and good for
a little way, but lanes soon began which were worse than
ever. Our only expedient now is to resort to strong
measures and launch the kayaks, in spite of the fact that
they leak ; we must then travel as much as possible by
way of the lanes, and with this resolution I turn back.
The snow is still the same, very wet, so that one sank
deep in between the hummocks, and there are plent}^ of
them. We could not afford a proper breakfast, so we
took \\ ounces bread and i^^ ounces pemmican per man,
and then set to work to mend the pumps and put the
BV SLEDGE AND KAYAK 283
kayaks in order for ferrying, so that their contents should
not be spoiled by water leaking in. Among other things,
a hole had to be patched in mine, which I had not seen
before.
" We had a frugal supper — 2 ounces aleuronate bread
and I ounce butter per man — and crept into the bag to
sleep as long as possible and kill the time without eating.
The only thing to be done is to try and hold out till the
snow has melted and advance is more practicable. At
one in the afternoon we turned out to a rather more
abundant breakfast of * fiskegratin,* but we do not dare to
eat as much as we require any longer. We are looking
forward to trying our new tactics, and instead of at-
tempting to conquer nature, obeying her and taking
advantage of the lanes. We must get some way, at any
rate, by this means; and the farther south the more
prospect of lanes and the greater chance of something
falling to our guns.
" Otherwise it is a dull existence enough, no prospect
for the moment of being able to get on, impassable
packed ice in every direction, rapidly diminishing pro-
visions, and now, too, nothing to be caught or shot. An
attempt I made at fishing with the net failed entirely — a
pteropod (Clio borealis) and a few Crustacea were the
whole result. I lie awake at night by the hour racking
my brain to find a way out of our difiiculties. Well,
well, there will be one eventually !
"Saturday, June 22d. Half-past 9 a.m. ; after a good
284 FARTHEST NORTH
breakfast of seal's - flesh, seal - liver, blubber, and soup,
here I lie dreaming dreams of brightness; life is all
sunshine again. What a little incident is necessary to
change the whole aspect of affairs ! Yesterday and the
last few days were dull and gloomy ; everything seemed
hopeless, the ice impassable, no game to be found ; and
then comes the incident of a seal rising near our kayaks
and rolling about round us. Johansen has time to give it
a ball just as it is disappearing, and it floats while I har-
poon it — the first and only bearded seal {Phoca barbata)
we have seen yet — and we have abundance of food and
fuel for upward of a month. We need hurry no longer ;
we can settle down, adapt the kayaks and sledges better
for ferrying over the lanes, capture seals if possible, and
await a change in the state of the ice. We have eaten
our fill both at supper and breakfast, after being raven-
ous for many days. The future seems bright and certain
now ; no clouds of darkness to be seen any longer.
" It was hardly with great expectations that we
started off on Tuesday evening. A hard crust which
had formed on the top of the soft snow did not improve
matters; the sledges often cut through this, and were
not to be moved before one lifted them forward again,
and when it was a case of turning amid the uneven ice
they stuck fast in the crust. The ice was uneven and
bad, and the snow loose and water-soaked, so that, even
with snow-shoes on, we sank deep into it ourselves.
There were lanes besides, and though tolerably easy to
BY SLEDGE ASD KAYAK ^H
cross, as they were often packed together they necessi-
tated a winding route. We saw clearly that to continue
in this way was impossible. The only resource was to
disburden ourselves of everything which could in any
way be dispensed \i-ith, and start afresh as quickly as we
could, with only provisions. kayaks« guns, and the most
necessary clothing, in order, at any rate, to reach land
before our last crumb of food was eaten up. We went
over the things to see what we could part with ; the
medicine-bag, the spare horizontal bars belonging to the
sledges, reser\-e snow-shoes and thick, rough socks
soiled shirts, and the tent. When it came to the sleep-
ing-bag we drew a long sigh, but, wet and heavy as it
always is now, that had to go too. We had, moreover,
to contrive wooden grips under the kayaks, so that we
can without further trouble set the whole thins: afloat
when we have to cross a lane and be able to drag the
sledges up on the other side and go on at once. If it
should then, as now, be impossible for us to launch the
sledges, because sleeping-bag, clothes, and sacks of
provender, etc., are lying on them as a soft dunnage
for the kayaks, it will take too much time. At every
lane we should be obliged to unlash the loads, lift the
kayaks off the sledges and into the water, lash them
together there, then place the sledges across them, and
finally go through the same manoeuvres in inverse order
on the other side. We should not get verj' far in the
day in that manner.
286 FARTHEST NORTH
" Firmly determined to make these alterations, the
very next day we started off. We soon came to a long
pool, which it was necessary to ferry over. The kayaks
were soon launched and lying side by side on the water,
well stiffened, with the snow-shoes under the straps,* a
thoroughly steady fleet. Then the sledges, with their
loads, were run out to them, one forward, one astern. We
had been concerned about the dogs and how we should
get them to go with us, but they followed the sledges out
on to the kayaks and lay down as if they had done
nothing else all their lives. ' Kaifas ' seated himself in
the bow of my kayak, and the two others astern.
"A seal had come up near us while we were occupied
with all this, but I thought to wait before shooting it till
the kayaks were ready, and thus be certain of getting it
before it sank. Of course it did not show itself again.
These seals seem to be enchanted, and as if they were
only sent to delay us. Twice that day before I had seen
them and watched for them to appear again in vain. I
had even achieved missing one — the third time I have
missed my mark. It looks bad for the ammunition if I
am going on like this, but I have discovered that I aimed
too high for these short ranges, and had shot over them.
So then we set off across the blue waves on our first long
♦ Certain straps which are fixed on the kayak, just in front of the
occupant, and through which the paddle is passed when shooting, etc.
The blade thus lying laterally on the water very much increases the
steadiness of the occupants.
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 289
voyage. A highly remarkable convoy we must have been,
laden as we were with sledges, sacks, guns, and dogs; a
tribe of gypsies, Johansen said it was. If any one had
suddenly come upon us then, he would hardly have known
what to make of the troupe, and certainly would not have
taken us for polar explorers. Paddling between the
sledges and the snow-shoes, which projected far out on
either side, was not easy work ; but we managed to get
along, and were soon of the opinion that we should think
ourselves lucky could we go on like this the whole day,
instead of hauling and wading through the snow. Our
kayaks could hardly have been called water-tight, and
we had recourse to the pumps several times; but we
could easily have reconciled ourselves to that, and only
wished we had more open water to travel over. At last
we reached the end of the pool; I jumped ashore on the
edge of the ice, to pull up the kayaks, and suddenly
heard a great splash beside us. It was a seal which had
been lying there. Soon afterwards I heard a similar
splash on the other side, and then for the third time a
huge head appeared, blowing and swimming backward
and forward, but, alas ! only to dive deep under the edge
of the ice before we had time to get the guns out. It was
a fine, large blue or bearded seal {Pkoca barbatd).
" We were quite sure that it had disappeared for good,
but no sooner had I got one of the sledges half-way up
the side than the immense head came up again close
beside the kayaks, blowing and repeating the same ma-
11.-19
290 FARTHEST NORTH
noeuvres as before. I looked round for my gun, but
could not reach it where it was lying on the kayak.
'Take the gun, Johansen, quick, and blaze away; but
quick ! look sharp, quick !' In a moment he had thrown
the gun to his cheek, and just as the seal was on the
point of disappearing under the edge I heard the report.
The animal made a little turn, and then lay floating,
the blood flowing from its head. I dropped the sledge,
seized the harpoon, and, quick as lightning, threw it deep
into the fat back of the seal, which lay quivering on the
surface of the water. Then it began to move ; there was
still life in it ; and, anxious lest the harpoon with its
thin line should not hold if the huge animal began to
quicken in earnest, I pulled my knife out of its sheath
and stuck it into the seal's throat, whence a stream of
blood came flowing out. The water was red with it for
a long distance, and it made one quite sorry to see the
wherewithal for a good meal being wasted like this. But
there was nothing to be done ; not on any account would
I lose that animal, and for the sake of safety gave it
another harpoon. Meanwhile the sledge, which had been
half dragged up on to the ice, slid down again, and the
kayaks, with Johansen and the dogs, came adrift. He
tried to pull the sledge up on to the kayak, but without
success, and so it remained with one end in the water
and one on the canoe. It heeled the whole fleet over,
and Johansen's kayak canted till one side was in the
water ; it leaked, moreover, like a sieve, and the water
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 291
rose in it with alarming rapidity. The cooker, which was
on the deck, fell off, and drifted gayly away before the
wind with all its valuable contents, borne high up in the
water by the aluminium cap, which happily was water-
tight. The ' ski ' fell off and floated about, and the fleet
sank deeper and deeper in. Meanwhile I stood holding
our precious prize, not daring to let go. The whole
thing was a scene of the most complete dissolution.
Johansen's kayak had by this time heeled over to such
an extent that the water reached the open seam on the
deck, and the craft filled immediately. I had no choice
left but to let go the seal and drag up the kayak be-
fore it sank. This done, heavy as it was and full of
water, the seal's turn came next, and this was much
worse. We had our work cut out to haul the immense
animal hand over hand up on to the ice ; but our rejoic-
ings were loud when we at last succeeded, and we al-
most fell to dancing round it in the excess of our de-
light. A water-logged kayak and soaked effects we
thought nothing of at such a supreme moment. Here
were food and fuel for a long time.
" Then came the rescuing and drying of our things.
First and foremost, of course, the ammunition ; it was
all our stock. But happily the cartridges were fairly
water-tight, and had not suffered much damage. Even
the shot cartridges, the cases of which were of paper,
had not lain long enough to become wholly permeated.
Such, however, was not the case with a supply of powder;
292 FARTHEST NORTH
the small tin box in which we kept it was entirely full of
water. The other things were not so important, though
it was hardly a comforting discovery to find that the
bread was soaked through with salt-water.
" We found a camping-ground not far ofiE. The tent
was soon pitched, our catch cut up and placed in safety,
and, I may say, seldom has the drift-ice housed beings
so well satisfied as the two who sat that morning in the
bag and feasted on seal's flesh, blubber, and soup as long
as they had any room to stow it in. We concurred in
the opinion that a better meal we could not have had.
Then down we crawled into the dear bag, which for the
present there was no need to part with, and slept the
sleep of the just in the knowledge that for the immediate
future, at any rate, we need have no anxiety.
" It is my opinion that for the time being we can do
nothing better than remain where we are, live on our
catch, without encroaching on the sledge provisions, and
thus await the time when the ice shall slacken more or
the condition of the snow improve. Meanwhile we will
rig up wooden grips on our sledges, and try to make the
kayaks water-tight. Furthermore, we will lighten our
equipment as much as we possibly can. If we were to
go on we should only be obliged to leave a great deal
of our meat and blubber behind us, and this, in these
circumstances, I think would be madness.
" Sunday, June 23d. So this is St.-John's-eve, and
Sunday, too. How merry and happy all the schoolboys
JOEIANSEN SITTING IN THE KLEKPiNG BAG IN THE HUT
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 295
are to-day! how the folk at home are starting forth in
crowds to the beautiful Norwegian woods and valleys! . . .
And here are we still in the drift-ice; cooking and frying
with blubber, eating it and seal's flesh until the train-oil
drips off us, and, above all, not knowing when there will
be an end to it all. Perhaps we still have a winter before
us. I could hardly have conceived that we should be
here now!
" It is a pleasing change, however, after having re-
duced our rations and fuel to a minimum to be able to
launch out into excesses, and eat as much and as often
as we like. It is a state of things hardly to be realized
at present. The food is agreeable to the taste, and we
like it better and better. My own opinion is that blub-
ber is excellent both raw and fried, and it can well take
the place of butter. The meat, in our eyes, is as good
as meat can be. We had it yesterday for breakfast, in
the shape of meat and soup served with raw blubber. For
dinner I fried a highly successful steak, not to be sur-
passed by the ' Grand ' [Hotel], though a good ' seidel ' of
bock-beer would have been a welcome addition. For sup-
per I made blood-pancakes fried in blubber instead of
butter, and they were a success, inasmuch as Johansen
pronounced them ' first-class,' to say nothing of my own
sentiments. This frying, however, inside the tent over a
train-oil lamp, is a doubtful pleasure. If the lamp itself
does not smoke the blubber does, causing the unfortunate
cook .the most excruciating pain in the eyes ; he can
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hardly keep them open, and they water copiously. But
the consequences could be even worse. The train-oil
lamp which I had contrived out of a sheet of German
silver became over-heated one day under the hot frying-
pan, and at last the whole thing caught fire, both the
lumps of blubber and the train-oil. The flame shot up
into the air, while I tried by every means in my power to
put it out, but it only grew worse. The best thing would
have been to convey the whole lamp outside, but there
was no time for it. The tent began to fill with suffocat-
ing smoke, and as a last resort I unfortunately seized a
handful of snow and threw it on to the burning train-oil.
It sputtered and crackled, boiling oil flew in all direc-
tions, and from the lamp itself rose a sea of flames which
filled the whole tent and burned everything they came
near. Half-suffocated, we both threw ourselves against
the closed door, bursting off the buttons, and dashed
headlong into the open air — ^glad, indeed, to have escaped
with our lives. With this explosion the lamp went out ;
but when we came to examine the tent we found an
enormous hole burned in the silk wall above the place
where the frying-pan had stood. One of our sledge-sails
had to pay the penalty for that hole. We crept back
into the tent again, congratulating ourselves, however, on
having got off so easily, and, after a great deal of trouble,
rekindled a fire so that I could fry the last pancake.
We then ate it with sugar, in the best of spirits, and
pronounced it the most delicious fare we had ever tasted.
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 299
We had good reason, too, to be in spirits, for our obser-
vation for the day made us in 82° 4.3' north latitude and
57° 48' east longitude. In spite of westerly and, in a
measure, southwesterly winds, we had come nearly 14'
south in three days and next to nothing east. A highly
surprising and satisfactory discovery. Outside, the north
wind was still blowing, and consequently we were drift-
ing south towards more clement regions.
" Wednesday, June 26th. June 24th was naturally
celebrated with great festivities. In the first place, it was
that day two years since we started from home ; second-
ly it was a hundred days since we left the Fram (not
really, it was two days more) ; and, thirdly, it was Mid-
summer-day. It was, of course, a holiday, and we
passed it in dreaming of good times to come, in study-
ing our charts, our future prospects, and in reading any-
thing readable that was to be found — i. e„ the almanac
and navigation-tables. Johansen took a walk along the
lanes, and also managed to miss a ringed seal, or ^ snad,'
as we call it in Norwegian, in a pool here east of us.
Then came supper — rather late in the night — consisting
of blood-pancakes with sugar, and unsurpassed in flavor.
The frying over the oil-lamp took a long time, and in
order to have them hot we had to eat each one as it was
fried, a mode of procedure which promoted a healthy
appetite between each pancake. Thereafter we stewed
some of our red whortleberries, and they tasted no less
good, although they had been soaked in salt-water in
300 FARTHEST NORTH
Johansen's kayak during the catastrophe of a couple of
days ago; and after a glorious meal we turned into the
bag at 8 o clock yesterday morning.
" At midday, again, I got up and went out to take a
meridian altitude. The weather was brilliant, and it was
so long since we had had anything of the kind that I
could hardly remember it. I sat up on the hummock,
waiting for the sun to come to the meridian, basking in
its rays, and looking out over the stretches of ice, where
the snow glittered and sparkled on all sides, and at the
pool in front of me lying shining and still as a mountain
lake, and reflecting its icy banks in the clear water. Not
a breath of wind stirred — so still, so still ; and the sun
baked, and I dreamed myself at home. ...
" Before going into the tent I went to fetch some salt-
water for the soup we were to have for breakfast; but
just at that moment a seal came up by the side of the
ice, and I ran back for my gun and kayak. Out on the
water I discovered that it was leaking like a sieve from
lying in the sun, and I had to paddle back faster than I
had come out, to avoid sinking. As I was emptying the
kayak, up came the seal again in front of me, and this
time my shot took effect; the animal lay floating on
the water like a cork. It was not many minutes before
I had the leaking craft on the water again, and my
harpoon in the animals neck. I towed it in while the
kayak gradually filled, and my legs, or, rather, that part
which follows closely above the legs when one is sitting
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 30I
in a canoe, became soaked with water, and my ' koma-
ger' gradually filled. After having dragged the seal
up to the tent, ' flensed ' it, collected all the blood which
was to be had, and cut it up, I crept into the tent, put
on some dry underclothes, and into the bag again, while
the wet ones were drying outside in the sun. It is easy
enough to keep one's self warm in the tent now. The
heat was so great inside it last night that we could
hardly sleep, although we lay on the bag instead of in
it. When I came back with the seal I discovered that
Johansen s bare foot was sticking out of the tent at a
place where the peg had given way; he was sleeping
soundly and had no idea of it. After having a small
piece of chocolate to commemorate the happy capture,
and, looking over my observations, we again settled
down to rest.
" It appears, remarkably enough, from our latitude
that we are still on the same spot, without any farther
drifts southw^ard, in spite of the northerly winds. Can
the ice be landlocked .f^ It is not impossible; far off
land, at any rate, we cannot be.
"Thursday, June 27th. The same monotonous life,
the same wind, the same misty weather, and the same
cogitations as to what the future will bring. There was a
gale from the north last night, with a fall of hard granular
snow, which lashed against the tent walls so that one
might think it to be good honest rain. It melted on the
walls directly, and the water ran down them. It is cozy
302 FARTHEST NORTH
in here, however, and the wind does not reach us ; we can
lie in our warm bag, and listen to the flapping of the tent,
and imagine that we are drifting rapidly westward, al-
though perhaps we are not moving from the spot. But if
this wind does not move us, the only explanation is that
the ice is landlocked, and that we cannot be far off shore.
We must wait for an east wind, I suppose, to drive us
farther west, and then afterwards south. My hope is that
we shall drift into the channel between Franz Josef Land
and Spitzbergen while we are lying here. The weather
was raw and windy with snowfall, so that it was hardly
suitable for outdoor work, particularly as, unfortunately,
there was no need to hurry.
" The lanes have changed very much of late ; there is
hardly anything left of the pool in front of us, over which
we paddled, and there has been pressure around us in
all directions. I hope the ice will be well ground into
pieces, as this enables it to slacken more quickly when
the time comes; but that will not be before far on in
July, and we ought to have the patience to wait for it
perhaps.
" Yesterday we cut some of the seal's flesh into thin
slices and hung them up to dry. We must increase our
travelling store and prepare pemmican or dried meat ; it
will be the easiest way of carrying it with us. Johansen
yesterday found a pond of fresh water close by, which is
very convenient, and we need no longer melt ice ; it is the
first good water we have found for cooking purposes. If
BV SLEDGE AND KAYAK 303
the seals are few and far between, there are birds still, I
am thankful to say. Last night a couple of ivory-gulls
{Larus eburneus), were bold enough to settle down on
our sealskin, close beside the tent wall, and pecked at the
blubber. They were sent off once or twice, but returned.
If the meat falls short we must resort to catching birds."
Thus the days passed by, one exactly like the other;
we waited and waited for the snow to melt, and worked
desultorily meanwhile at getting ourselves ready to pro-
ceed. This life reminded me of some Eskimos who
journeyed up a fjord to collect grass for hay ; but when
they arrived at their destination found it quite short, and
so settled down and waited till it was long enough to cut.
A suitable condition of the snow was long in coming.
On June 29th I write: "Will not the temperature rise
sufficiently to make something like an effectual clearance
of the snow } We try to pass the time as best we can in
talking of how delightful it will be when we get home,
and how we shall enjoy life and all its charms, and go
through a calculation of chances as to how soon that may
be; but sometimes, too, we talk of how well we will
arrange for the winter in Spitzbergen, if we should not
reach home this year. If it should come to that, we may
not even get so far, but have to winter on some place
ashore here — no, it can never come to that !
"Sunday, June 30th. So this is the end of June, and
we are about the same place as when we began the
month. And the state of the snow? Well, better it
304 FARTHEST NORTH
certainly is not ; but the day is fine. It is so warm that
we are quite hot lying here inside the tent. Through
the open door we can see out over the ice where the
sun is glittering through white sailing cirrus clouds on
the dazzling whiteness. And then there is a Sunday
calm, with a faint breeze mostly from the southeast, 1
think. Ah me! it is lovely at home to-day, I am sure,
with everything in bloom and the fjord quivering in the
sunlight; and you are sitting out on the point with Liv,
perhaps, or are on the water in your boat. And then
one's eye wanders out through the door again, and I am
reminded there is many an ice-floe between now and
then, before the time when I shall see it all again.
" Here we lie far up in the north ; two grim, black,
soot-stained barbarians, stirring a mess of soup in a
kettle and surrounded on all sides by ice; by ice and
nothing else — shining and white, possessed of all the
purity we ourselves lack. Alas, it is all too pure ! One's
eye searched to the very horizon for a dark spot to rest
on, but in vain. When will it really come to pass?
Now we have waited for it two months. All the birds
seemed to have disappeared to-day; not even a cheery
little auk to be seen. They were here until yesterday,
and we have heard them flying north and south, probably
to and from land, where they have gone, I suppose, now
that there is so little water about in these parts. If only
we could move as easily as they !
"Wednesday, July 3d. Why write again .f^ What
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 305
have I to commit to these pages? Nothing but the
same overpowering longing to be home and away from
this monotony. One day just like the other, with the
exception, perhaps, that before it was warm and quiet,
while the last two days there has been a south wind
blowing, and we are drifting northward. Found from a
meridian altitude yesterday that we have drifted back
to 82^ 8.4' N., while the longitude is about the same.
Both yesterday and the day before we had to a certain
extent really brilliant sunshine, and this for us is a great
rarity. The horizon in the south was fairly clear yes-
terday, which it had not been for a long time ; but we
searched it in vain for land. I do not understand it. . . •
" We had a fall of snow last night, and it dripped in
here so that the bag became wet. This constant snow-
fall, which will not turn to rain, is enough to make one
despair. It generally takes the form of a thick layer of
new snow on the top of the old, and this delays the thaw»
" This wind seems to have formed some lanes in the
ice again, and there is a little more bird-life. We saw
some little auks again yesterday; they came from the
south, probably from land.
" Saturday, July 6th. +3.38° Fahr. (-fi°C.). Rain.
At last, after a fortnight, we seem to have got the weather
we have been waiting for. It has rained the whole night
and forenoon, and is still at it — real, good rain: so now,
perhaps, this everlasting snow will take itself off ; it is as
soft and loose as scum. If only this rain would go on lor
II.— 20
306 FARTHEST NORTH
many days ! But before we have time to look round there
will be a cold wind with snow, a crust will form, and again
we must wait. I am too used to disappointment to believe
in anything. This is a school of patience ; but neverthe-
less the rain has put us in good spirits.
" The days drag wearily by. We work in an inter-
mittent way at the kayak grips of wood for our sledges,
and at calking and painting our kayaks to make them
water-tight. The painting, however, causes me a good
deal of trouble. I burned bones here for many days till
the whole place smelled like the bone-dust works at
Lysaker; then came the toilsome process of pounding
and grating them to make them perfectly fine and even.
The bone-dust was thereupon mixed with train-oil, and
at last I got as far as a trial, but the paint proved
uncompromisingly to be perfectly useless. So now I
must mix it with soot, as I had first intended, and add
more oil. I am now occupied in smoking the place out
in my attempts to make soot ; but all my exertions, when
it comes to collecting it, only result in a little pinch,
although the smoke towered in the air, and they might
have seen it in Spitzbergen. There is a great deal to do
battle with when one has not a shop next door. What
would I not give for a little bucket of oil-paint, only com-
mon lampblack ! Well, well ; we shall find a way out of
the difficulty eventually, but meanwhile we are growing
like sweeps.
" On Wednesday evening * Haren' was killed ; poor
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK
307
beast, he was not good for much latterly, but he had
been a first-rate dog, and it was hard, I fancy, for Johan-
sen to part with him ; he looked sorrowfully at the
animal before it went to the happy hunting-grounds, or
wherever it may be draught -dogs go to. Perhaps to
MY LAST DOG, " KAIFAS
places where there are plains of level ice and no ridges
and lanes. There are only two dogs left now — ' Suggen '
and ' Kaifas' — and we must keep them alive as long as
we can, and have use for them.
" The day before yesterday, in the evening, we sud-
denly discovered a black hillock to the east. We ex-
amined it through the glass and it looked absolutely like
a black rock emerging from the snows. It also somewhat
3o8 FARTHEST NORTH
exceeded the neighboring hummocks in height. I scru-
tinized it carefully from the highest ridge hereabouts, but
could not make it out. I thought it too big to be only
a piled-up hummock mixed with black ice or earthy mat-
ter, and I had never seen anything of the kind before.
That it is an island seems highly improbable; for al-
though we are certainly drifting, it remains in the same
position in relation to us. We saw it yesterday, and see
it still to-day in the same quarter. I think the most
reasonable supposition is that it is an iceberg.
" No sooner does the horizon clear in the south than
one of us may be seen taking his customary walk to the
* watch-tower ' (a hummock beside the tent) to scan for
land, sometimes with a glass, sometimes without it ; but
there is nothing to be seen but the same bare horizon.*
" Every day I take a turn round the ice in our neigh-
borhood to see if the snow has decreased, but it always
seems to be about the same, and sometimas I have mo-
ments of doubt as to whether it will clear away at all this
summer. If not, our prospects will be more than dark.
The best we can hope for will then be a winter some-
where or other on Franz Josef Land. But now the
rain has come. It is pouring down the tent walls
and dripping on the ice. Everything looks hopeful
again, and we are picturing the delights of the autumn
and winter at home.
♦ Compare, however, what I say on this subject later — i^., July 24th.
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 309
" Wednesday, July loth. It is a curious thing that now,
when I really have something of a little more interest
than usual to relate, I have less inclination to write than
ever. Everything seems to become more and more in-
different. One longs only for one single thing, and still
the ice is lying out there covered with impassable snow.
" But what was it I had to say ? Oh yes, that we
made ourselves such a good bed yesterday with bear-
skins under the bag ; that we slept the clock round with-
out knowing it, and I thought it was six in the morn-
ing when I turned out. When I came out of the tent I
thought there was something remarkable about the posi-
tion of the sun, and pondered over it for a little while,
until I came to the conclusion that it was six in the
evening, and that we had slumbered for twenty-two hours.
We have not slept much of late, as we have been broken
on the wheel, so to speak, by the snow-shoes we had
to place under the bag, in order to keep it clear of the
pools of water under us. The apologies for hair still ex-
isting here and there on the skin at the bottom of the
bag do not afford much protection against the sharp
edges of the snow-shoes.
" This beneficent rain continued the whole day on
Saturday, doing away with a fair amount of snow, and we
rejoice to hear it. To celebrate the good weather we
determined to have chocolate for supper; otherwise we
live entirely on our catch. We had the chocolate ac-
cordingly, and served with raw blubber it tasted quite
3IO FARTHEST NORTH
excellent. It was the cause of a great disappointment,
however, for after having looked forward immoderately
to this, now so rare, treat, I managed clumsily to upset
my whole cup, so that all the precious contents ran out
over the ice. While I was lying waiting for a second cup
— it was boiling over the train-oil lamp — * Kaifas ' began
to bark outside. Not doubting but that he had seen an
animal, I jumped up to hurry off to the lookout hum-
mock to scan the ice. Not a little surprised was I
when I poked my head out of the tent door to see a
bear come jogging up to the dogs and begin sniffing at
' Kaifas.' I sprang to the gun, which stood ready in the
snow beside the tent, and pulled off the case, the bear
meanwhile standing astonished and glaring at me. I
sent it a ball through the shoulder and chest, certain
that it would drop on the spot. It half staggered over,
and then turned round and made off, and before I could
extract a new cartridge from my pocket, which was full of
everything else, was away among the hummocks. I could
not get a shot at it where it was, and set off in pursuit.
I had not gone many steps before we saw (Johansen
had followed me) two more heads appearing a little way
farther on. They belonged to two cubs, which were
standing on their hind-legs and looking at their mother,
who came reeling towards them, with a trail of blood
behind her. Then off they went, all three, over a lane,
and a wild chase began over plains and ridges and lanes
and every kind of obstacle, but it made no difference to
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK iw
their pace. A wonderful thing this love of sport; it is
like setting fire to a fuse. Where at other times it would
be laborious work to get on at all, where one sinks to
the knees in the snow, and where one would hesitate be-
fore choosing a way over the lane, let only the spark be
kindled, and one clears every obstacle without thinking
about it. The bear was severely wounded, and dragged
her left fore-leg ; she did not go fast, but always so fast
that I had my work cut out to keep near her. The cubs
ran round her in their solicitude, and generally a little
way in front, as if to get her to come with them ; they
little knew what was the matter with her. Suddenly
they all three looked back at me, as I was crashing after
them as fast as I could. I had been within range many
times, but the bear had had her hind quarters towards me,
and when I fired I meant to be sure of making an end of
her, as I only had three cartridges with me, one for each
of them. At last, on the top of a huge hummock, I got
a sight of her broadside on, and there, too, she dropped.
The cubs hurried anxiously up to her when she fell — it
made one sorry to see them — they sniffed at and pushed
her, and ran round and round, at a loss what to do in
their despair. Meanwhile I had put another cartridge
in the rifle, and picked off the other cub as it was stand-
ing on a projection. It fell over the declivity with a
growl, and down on to its mother. Still more frightened
than before, the other cub hastened to its succor; but,
poor thing, what could it (ko} While its brother rolled
312 FARTHEST NORTH
over, growling, it stood there looking sorrowfully some-
times at it, sometimes at the mother, who lay dying in
a pool of blood. When I approached, it turned its head
away indifferently ; what did it care about me now ? All
its kindred, everything it held dear, lay there mutilated
and destroyed. It no longer knew whither to go, and did
not move from the spot. I went right up to it, and, with
a spherical ball through the breast, it fell dead beside its
mother.
" Johansen soon came up. A lane had detained him,
so that he had lost ground. We opened the animals,
took out the entrails, and then went back to the tent to
fetch the sledges and dogs and proper flaying -knives.
Our second cup of chocolate in the tent tasted very good
after this interruption. When we had skinned and cut
up the two bears we left them in a heap, covered over
with the skins to protect the meat from the gulls; the
third one we took back with us. The next day we
fetched the others, and now have more meat food than
we shall be able to consume, I hope. It is a good thing,
though, that we can give the dogs as much raw meat
as they will eat; they certainly require it. 'Suggen,' poor
thing, is in a very bad way, and it is a question whether
we can get any more work out of him. When we took
him with us after the bears the first day, he could not
walk, and we had to place him on the sledge ; but then
he howled so terrifically, as much as to say it was be-
neath his dignity to be transported in this way, that
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 3^3
Johansen had to take him home again. The dogs seem
to be attacked with a paralysis of the legs; they fall
down, and have the greatest difficulty in rising. It has
been the same with all of them, from * Gulen * downward.
* Kaifas,' however, is as fresh and well as ever.
" It is remarkable how large these cubs were. I
could hardly imagine that they were born this year, and
should without hesitation have put them down as a year
old if the she-bear had not been in milk, and it is hardly
to be supposed that the cubs would suck for a year and a
half. Those we shot by the Fram on November 4th
last year were hardly half the size of these. It would
seem as if the polar bear produces its young at different
times of the year. In the paunches of the cubs were
pieces of skin from a seal.
"Monday, July 15th. As we were working at the
kayaks yesterday a Ross's gull {Rhodostethia rosea) came
flying by. It was a full-grown bird, and made a turn
when just over us, showing its pretty rose -colored
breast, and then disappeared again in the mist southward.
On Thursday I saw another adult Ross's gull, with a
black ring round its neck ; it came from the northeast,
and flew in a southwesterly direction. Otherwise it is
remarkable how all the birds have disappeared from here.
The little auk is no longer to be seen or heard ; the only
birds are an ivory-gull now and then, and occasionally a
fulmar.
" Wednesday, July 17th. At last the time is drawing
::x FARTHEST XORTH
-ve car. be of again and start homeward in
The ^zj'jif has decreased sufficiendv to make
izce fiirly -easT. We are doing our utmost to get
IT. The grips? on the sledges are nicely arranged,
aijf ^'s^A^ -with cushions of bearskin on Johansen s
arc cc c:odi -:a mine. This is in order to give the
kajaks a nrm and soft bed and prevent chafing. The
k^jaks are painted with sool and train-oil, and have been
calked with pastels ifor drawingli crushed and also mixed
with train-oil : that is to say. as far as these \'anous ingre-
dients would go. We are now using a mixture of stea-
rine, pitch, and resin.* to finish up with. A thorough
re\*ision of our equipment will take place, and everAthing
not absolutely in\-aluable will be left behind. We must
say good-bye here to the sleeping-bag and tent.t Our
days of comfort are past, and henceforth until we are on
board the sloopj we will live under the open sky.
" Meanwhile we have lain here — * Longing Camp,' as
we call It — and let the time slip by. We have eaten
bear -meat morning, noon, and night, and, so far from
being tired of it, have made the discovery that the breast
of the cubs is quite a delicacy. It is remarkable that
this exclusive meat and fat diet has not caused us the
slightest discomfort in any way, and we have no craving
♦ This was taken in case it might be wanted for soldering the cooking
apparatus or the German-silver plates under the sledge- runners.
t We eventually decided to retain this, however.
\ The vessel we expected to catch in Spitzbergen.
BY SLEDGE AND KAYAK 315
for farinaceous food, although we might, perhaps, regard
a large cake as the acme of happiness. Every now and
then we cheer ourselves up with lime-juice grog, a blood-
pancake, or some stewed whortleberries, and let our im-
aginations run riot over all the amenities of civilization,
which we mean to enjoy to the full when we get home !
Perhaps it will be many a long day before we get there ;
perhaps there will be many a hard trial to overcome.
But, no ; I will believe the best. There are still two months
of summer left, and in them something can be done.
" Friday, July 19th. Two full-grown Rosss gulls flew
over here from the northeast and went west this morning.
When far off they uttered cries which reminded me of
that of the wryneck, and which 1 at first thought came
from a little auk. They flew quite low, just over my
head, and the rose-color of their under-parts could be seen
plainly. Another Ross's gull flew by here yesterday. It
is strange that there should be so many of them. Where
are we ?
" Tuesday, July 23d. Yesterday forenoon we at last
got clear of * Longing Camp,' and now, I am thankful to
say, we are again on the move. We have worked day
and night to get off. First we thought it would be on
the 19th, then the 20th, and then the 21st, but something
always cropped up that had to be done before we could
leave. The bread, which had been soaked in sea-water,
had to be carefully dried in the frying-pan over the lamp,
and this took several days; then the socks had to be
3i6 FARTHEST NORTH
patched, and the kayaks carefully looked over, etc.
We were determined to start on our last journey home
in good repair, and so we did. Everything goes like
wildfire. The chances of progress are better than we
expected, although the ice is anything but even; the
sledges are lighter to draw, now that everything that can
be dispensed with is left behind, and the snow, too, has
decreased considerably. On the last part of the journey
yesterday we could even go without snow-shoes, and,
as a matter of course, progress among the ridges and
irregularities, where they are difficult to manage, is
quicker without them. Johansen performed a feat by
crossing a lane alone in his kayak, with *Suggen' lying
on the fore-deck, while he himself knelt on the after-deck
and balanced the craft as he paddled. I began to try
the same with mine, but found it too cranky to risk the
attempt, and preferred to tow it over, with *Kaifas' on the
deck, while I went carefully alongside and jumped over
on some pieces of ice.
" We have now the advantage of finding drinking-
water everywhere. We are also eating our old proven-
der again; but, curiously enough, neither Johansen nor
I think the farinaceous food as good as one might sup-
pose after a month of meat diet. It is good to be under
way again, and not the least pleasant part about it is our
lighter sledges; but then we certainly left a good deal
behind at 'Longing Camp.' In addition to a respect-
able mound of meat and blubber, we left three fine bear-
BV SLEDGE AND KAYAK 1^1
skins. Our friend, the bag, too, is lying on the top of
the bears ; a quantity of wood, consisting of the boards
from under the sledges, the snow-shoes and other things,
more than half of Blessing's fine medicaments — plaster-
of-Paris bandages, soft steam-sterilized gauze bandages,
hygroscopic cotton wadding — to say nothing of a good
aluminium horizon-glass, rope, our combined frying-pan
and melter, half an aluminium cap belonging to the
cooker, sheets of German silver, a train-oil lamp of the
same, bags, tools, sail-cloth, Finn shoes, our wolfskin
fingerless gloves, also woollen ones, a geological hammer,
half a shirt, socks, and other sundries, all strewn about in
chaotic confusion. Instead of all these we have an aug-
mentation in the form of a sack of dried seal's and bear's
flesh and the other half of the aluminium cap full of
blubber. We are now thoroughly divested of all super-
fluous articles, and there is hardly so much as a bit of
wood to be had if one should want a stick to slip through
the end of the hauling-rope."
CHAPTER VII
LAND AT LAST
"Wednesday, July 24th. At last the marvel has
come to pass — land, land! and after we had almost given
up our belief in it ! After nearly two years, we again
see something rising above that never^nding white line
on the horizon yonder — a white line which for millen-
nium after millennium has stretched over this sea, and
which for millenniums to come shall stretch in the same
way. We are leaving it, and leaving no trace behind us,
for the track of our little caravan across the endless
plains has long ago disappeared. A new life is begin-
ning for us ; for the ice it is ever the same.
" It has long haunted our dreams, this land, and now
it comes like a vision, like fairly -land. Drift-white, it
arches above the horizon like distant clouds, which one
is afraid will disappear every minute. The most wonder-
ful thing is that we have seen this land all the time with-
out knowing it. I examined it several times with the
telescope from 'Longing Camp' in the belief that it
might be snow-fields, but always came to the conclusion
that it was only clouds, as I could never discover any
LAND AT LAST 3^9
dark point. Then, too, it seemed to change form, which,
I suppose, must be attributed to the mist which always lay
over it; but it always came back again at the same place
with its remarkable regular curves. I now remember
that dark crag we saw east of us' at the camp, and which
I took to be an iceberg. It must certainly have been a
little islet* of some kind.
" The ice was worse and more broken than ever yes-
terday; it was, indeed, a labor to force ones way over
pressure-ridges like veritable mountains, with valleys and
clefts in between ; but on we went in good spirits, and
made some progress. At lanes where a crossing was
difficult to find we did not hesitate to launch kayaks and
sledges, and were soon over in this manner. Sometimes
after a very bad bit we would come across some flat ice
for a short distance, and over this we would go like wild-
fire, splashing through ponds and puddles. While I was
on ahead at one time yesterday morning, Johansen went
up on to a hummock to look at the ice, and remarked a
curious black stripe over the horizon ; but he supposed it
to be only a cloud, he said, and I thought no more about
the matter. When, some while later, I also ascended a
hummock to look at the ice, I became aware of the same
black stripe; it ran obliquely from the horizon up into
what I supposed to be a white bank of clouds. The
longer I looked at this bank and stripe the more unusual
♦ This supposition is extremely doubtful.
320 FARTHEST NORTH
I thought them, until I was constrained to fetch the glass.
No sooner had I fixed it on the black part than it struck
me at once that this must be land, and that not far off.
There was a large snow-field out of which black rocks
projected. It was not long before Johansen had the glass
to his eye, and convinced himself that we really had land
before us. We both of us naturally became in the high-
est spirits. I then saw a similar white arching outline
a little farther east ; but it was for the most part covejed
with white mist, from which it could hardly be distinguish-
ed, and, moreover, was continually changing form. It soon,
however, came out entirely, and was considerably larger
and higher than the former, but there was not a black
speck to be seen on it. So this was what land looked like,
now that we had come to it ! I had imagined it in many
forms, with high peaks and glittering glaciers, but never
like this. There was nothing kindly about this, but it
was indeed no less welcome ; and on the whole we could
not expect it to be otherwise than snow-covered, with all
the snow which falls here.
" So then we pitched the tent and had a feast suited
to the occasion : lobscouse made of potatoes (for the hst
time but one ; we had saved them long for this occas
pemmican, dried bear's and seal's flesh, and bear ton^ ;s,
chopped up together. After this was a second course,
consisting of bread-crumbs fried in bear's grease, also
vril-food and butter, and a piece of chocolate to wind up."
We thought this land so near that it could not pos-
V. » ■ f
nc^wcvci
* 1
«'! 4 1 11 I < .
.;
LAND AT LAST 321
sibly take long to reach it, certainly not longer than till
next evening. Johansen was even certain that we should
do it the same day, but nevertheless thirteen days were
to elapse, occupied in the same monotonous drudgery
over the drift-ice.
On July 25th I write: "When we stopped in the
fog yesterday evening we had a feeling that we must
have come well under land. This morning, when we
turned out, the first thing Johansen did when he went
to fetch some water for me to cook with was, of course,
to climb up on the nearest hummock and look at the
land. There it lay, considerably nearer than before, and
he is quite certain that we shall reach it before night"
I also discovered a new land to our west (S. 60° W.
magnetic) that day ; a regular, shield-like, arched outline,
similar to the other land; and it was low above the
horizon, and appeared to be a long way off.*
We went on our way as fast as we could across lanes
and rough ice, but did not get far in the day, and the
land did not seem to be much nearer. In reality there
was no difference to be seen, although we tried to
imagine that it was steadily growing higher. On
Saturday, July 27th, I seem to have a suspicion that
in point of fact we were drifting away from land, I
write : " The wind began to blow from the S.S. W.
(magnetic) just as we were getting off yesterday, and
♦ It proved later that this must be Crown Prince Rudolf Land.
II. —21
322 FARTHEST NORTH
%
increased as the day went on. It was easy to perceive
by the atmosphere that the wind was driving the ice
off the land, and land-lanes formed particularly on the
east side of it. When I was up on a hummock yester-
day evening I observed a black stripe on the horizon
under land ; I examined it with the glass, and, as I had
surmised, there was an ice-edge or glacier stretching far
in a westerly direction ; and there was plainly a broad
lane in front of it, to judge by the dark bank of mist
which lay there. It seems to me that land cannot
be far off, and if the ice is tolerably passable we may
reach it to-day. The wind continued last night, but
it has quieted down now, and there is sunshine outside.
We try by every means in our power to get a com-
fortable night's rest in our new bag of blankets. We
have tried lying on the bare ice, on the 'ski,' and to-
night on the bare ice again ; but it must be confessed
that it is hard and never will be very comfortable; a
little chilly, too, when one is wet ; but we shall appreci-
ate a good warm bed all the more when we get it.
"Tuesday, July 30th. We make incredibly slow
progress ; but we are pushing our way nearer land all the
same.* Every kind of hinderance seems to beset us:
now I am suffering so much from my back (lumbago?)
that yesterday it was only by exerting all my strength of
will that I could drag myself along. In difficult places
* In reality we were probably farther from it than before.
LAND AT LAST 323
Johansen had to help me with my sledge. It began
yesterday, and at the end of our march he had to go
first and find the way. Yesterday I was much worse, and
how I am to-day I do not know before I begin to walk;
"INCREDIBLY SLOW PROGRESS
but I ought to be thankful that I can drag myself along
at all, though it is with endless pain. We had to halt and
camp on account of rain yesterday morning at three,
after only having gone nine hours. The rain succeeded
in making us wet before we had found a suitable place
for the tent. Here we have been a whole day while it
has been pouring down, and we have hardly become drier.
There are puddles under us and the bag is soaked on the
under-side. The wind has gone round to the west just
324 FARTHEST NORTH
now, and it has stopped raining, so we made some por-
ridge for breakfast and think of going on again ; but if it
should begin to rain again we must stop, as it will not do
to get wet through when we have no change of clothes.
It is anything but pleasant as it is to lie with wet legs
and feet that are like icicles, and not have a dry thread
to put on. Full-grown Ross's gulls were seen singly
four times to-day, and when Johansen was out to fetch
water this morning he saw two.*
"Wednesday, July 31st The ice is as disintegrated and
impracticable as can well be conceived. The continual
friction and packing of the floes against each other grind
up the ice so that the water is full of brash and small
pieces; to ferry over this in the kayaks is impossible,
and the search is long before we eventually find a
hazardous crossing. Sometimes we have to form one by
pushing small floes together, or must ferry the sledges
over on a little floe. We spend much time and labor on
each single lane, and progress becomes slow in this way.
My back still painful, Johansen had to go ahead yesterday
also; and evening and morning he is obliged to take off
my boots and socks, for I am unable to do it myself.
He is touchingly unselfish, and takes care of me as if I
were a child ; everything he thinks can ease me he does
quietly, without my knowing it. Poor fellow, he has to
work doubly hard now, and does not know how this will
* We saw more and more of these remarkable birds the farther we
went.
LAND AT LAST 325
end. I feel very much better to-day, however, and it is
to be hoped shall soon be all right.
" Thursday, August ist. Ice with more obstacles
than here — is it to be found, I wonder? But we are
working slowly on, and, that being the case, we ought,
perhaps, to be satisfied. We have also had a change — a
brilliantly fine day; but it seems to me the south wind
we have had, which opened the lanes, has put us a
good way farther off land again. We have also drifted
a long distance to the east, and no longer see the most
westerly land with the black rocks, which we remarked
at first. It would seem as if the Ross's gulls keep to
land here ; we see them daily.
'' One thing, however, I am rejoicing over; my back
is almost well, so that I shall not delay our progress any
more. I have some idea now what it would be like if
one of us became seriously ill. Our fate would then be
sealed, I think.
** Friday, August 2d. It seems as if everything con-
spired to delay us, and that we shall never get away from
this drift-ice. My back is well again now; the ice was
more passable yesterday than before, so that we nearly
made a good day's march ; but in return wind and cur-
rent set us from shore, and we are farther away again.
Against these two enemies all fighting is in vain, I am
afraid. We have drifted far off to the southeast, have
got the north point of the land about due west of us, and
we are now in about 81° 36' N. My only hope now is
326 FARTHEST NQRTH
that this drift eastward, away from land, may stop or
alter its course, and thus bring us nearer land. It is
unfortunate that the lanes are covered with young ice,
which it would be disastrous to put the kayaks through.
If this gets worse, things will look very bad. Meanwhile
we have nothing to do but go on s^ fast as we can. If
we are going to drift back into the ice again, then —
then —
" Saturday, August 3d. Inconceivable toil. We
never could go on with it were it not for the fact that we
must We have made wretchedly little progress, even if
we have made any at all. We have had no food for the
dogs the last few days except the ivory-gulls and fulmars
we have been able to shoot, and that has been a couple a
day. Yesterday the dogs only had a little bit of blubber
each.
" Sunday, August 4th. Thes^ lanes are desperate
work and tax one's strength. We often have to go
several hundred yards on mere brash, or from block to
block, dragging the sledges after us, and in constant fear
of their capsizing into the w^ter. Johansen was very
nearly in yesterday, but, as alwiays hitherto, he managed
to save himself. The dogs fall in and get a bath contin-
ually.
" Monday, August 5th. We have never had worse
ice than yesterday, but we managed to force our way
on a little, nevertheless, and two happy incidents marked
the day : the first was that Johansen was not eaten up by
"THIS INCONCEIVABLE TOIL
LAND AT LAST 329
a bear, and the second, that we saw open water under the
glacier edge ashore.
" We set off about 7 o'clock yesterday morning and
got on to ice as bad it as could be. It was as if some
giant had hurled down enormous blocks pell-mell, and
had strewn wet snow in between them with water under-
neath ; and into this we sank above our knees. There
were also numbers of deep pools in between the blocks.
It was like toiling over hill and dale, up and down over
block after block and ridge after ridge, with deep clefts
in between ; not a clear space big enough to pitch a
tent on even, and thus it went on the whole time. To
* put a coping-stone to our misery, there was such a mist
that we could not see a hundred yards in front of us.
After an exhausting march we at last reached a lane
where we had to ferry over in the kayaks. After having
cleared the side of the lane from young ice and brash, I
drew my sledge to the end of the ice, and was holding it
to prevent it slipping in, when I heard a scuffle behind
me, and Johansen, who had just turned round to pull
his sledge flush with mine,* cried, * Take the gun ! ' I
turned round and saw an enormous bear throwing itself
♦ As a rule, we crossed the lanes in this manner; we placed the
sledges, with the kayaks on, side by side, lashed them together, stiff-
ened them by running the snow-shoes across under the straps, which
also steadied them, and then launched them as they were, with the sledges
lashed underneath. When across, we had only to haul them up on the
other side.
33° FARTHEST NORTH
on him, and Johansen on his back. I tried to seize my
gun, which was in its case on the fore-deck, but at the
same moment the kayak slipped into the water. My
first thought was to throw myself into the water over the
kayak and fire from there, but I recognized how risky it
would be. I began to pull the kayak, with its heavy
cargo, on to the high edge of the ice again as quickly as I
could, and was on my knees pulling and tugging to get
at my gun. I had no time to look round and see what
"YOU MUST LOOK SHARP !"
was going on behind me, when I heard Johansen quietly
say, ' You must look sharp if you want to be in time !'
" Look sharp ? I should think so ! At last I got hold
of the butt-end, dragged the gun out, turned round in a
LAND AT LAST 33 1
sitting posture, and cocked the shot-barrel. The bear was
standing not two yards off, ready to make an end to my
dog, * Kaifas.' There was no time to lose in cocking the
other barrel, so I gave it a charge of shot behind the ear,
and it fell down dead between us.
" The bear must have followed our track like a cat,
and, covered by the ice-blocks, have slunk up while we
were clearing the ice from the lane and had our backs to
him. We could see by the trail how it had crept over a
small ridge just behind us under cover of a mound by
Johansen's kayak. While the latter, without suspecting
anything or looking round, went back and stooped down
to pick up the hauling-rope, he suddenly caught sight
of an animal crouched up at the end of the kayak, but
thought it was * Suggen '; and before he had time to real-
ize that it was so big he received a cuff on the ear which
made him see fireworks, and then, as I mentioned before,
over he went on his back. He tried to defend himself
as best he could with his fists. With one hand he seized
the throat of the animal, and held fast, clinching it with
all his might. It was just as the bear was about to bite
Johansen in the head that he uttered the memorable
words, " Look sharp !" The bear kept glancing at me con-
tinually, speculating, no doubt, as to what I was going to
do ; but then caught sight of the dog and turned towards
it. Johansen let go as quick as thought, and wriggled
himself away, while the bear gave ' Suggen ' a cuff which
made him howl lustily, just as he does when we thrash
332 FARTHEST NORTH
him. Then ' Kaifas ' got a slap on the nose. Meanwhile
Johansen had struggled to his legs, and when I fired had
got his gun, which was sticking out of the kayak hole.
The only harm done was that the bear had scraped some
grime off Johansen s right cheek, so that he has a white
stripe on it, and had given him a slight wound in one
hand ; ' Kaifas ' had also got a scratch on his nose.
" Hardly had the bear fallen before we saw two more
peeping over a hummock a little way off — cubs, who
naturally wanted to see the result of the maternal chase.
They were two large cubs. I thought it was not worth
while to sacrifice a cartridge on them, but Johansen ex-
pressed his opinion that young bear's flesh was much more
delicate in flavor than old. He would only shoot one, he
said, and started off. However, the cubs took to their
heels, although they came back a little while later, and we
could hear them at a long distance growling after their
mother.
"Johansen sent one of them a ball, but the range was
too long, and he only wounded it. With some terrific
growls it started off again, and Johansen after it ; but he
gave up the chase soon, as he saw it promised to be a
long one. While we were cutting up the she-bear the
cubs came back on the other side of the lane, and the
whole time we were there we had them walking round
us. When we had fed the dogs well, and had eaten
some of the raw meat ourselves, and had furthermore
stowed away in the kayaks the meat we had cut off
LAND AT LAST 333
the legs, we at last ferried over the lane and went on
our way.
" The ice was not good ; and, to make bad worse, we
immediately came on some terrible lanes, full of nothing
but tightly packed lumps of ice. In some places there
were whole seas of it, and it was enough to make one
despair. Among all this loose ice we came on an un-
usually thick old floe, with high mounds on it and pools
in between. It was from one of these mounds that I
observed through the glass the open water at the foot of
the glacier, and now we cannot have far to go. But the
ice looks very bad on ahead, and each piece when it is
like this may take a long time to travel over.
" As we went along we heard the wounded bear low-
ing ceaselessly behind us; it filled the whole of this si-
lent world of ice with its bitter plaint over the cruelty
of man. It was miserable to hear it ; and if we had had
time we should undoubtedly have gone back and sacri-
ficed a cartridge on it. We saw the cubs go off to the
place where the mother was lying, and thought to our-
selves that we had got rid of them, but heard them soon
afterwards, and even when we had camped they were not
far off.
" Wednesday, August 7th. At last we are under
land; at last the drift-ice lies behind us, and before us
is open water — open, it is to be hoped, to the end. Yes-
terday was the day. When we came out of the tent
the evening of the day before yesterday we both thought
334 FARTHES2' NORTH
we must be nearer the edge of the glacier than ever,
and with fresh courage, and in the faint hope of reach-
ing land that day, we started on our journey. Yet we
dared not think our life on the drift-ice was so nearly
at an end. After wandering about on it for five months
and suffering so many disappointments, we were only
too well prepared for a new defeat. We thought, how-
ever, that the ice looked more promising farther on,
though before we had gone far we came to broad lanes
full of slush and foul, uneven ice, with hills and dales,
and deep snow and water, into which we sank up to our
thighs. After a couple of lanes of this kind, matters im-
proved a little, and we got on to some flat ice. After
having gone over this for a while, it became apparent
how much nearer we were to the edge of the glacier.
It could not possibly be far off now. We eagerly har-
nessed ourselves to the sledges again, put on a spurt,
and away we went through snow and water, over mounds
and ridges. We went as hard as we could, and what
did we care if we sank into water till far above our fur
leggings, so that both they and our ' komager ' filled and
gurgled like a pump ? What did it matter to us now, so
long as we got on?
"We soon reached plains, and over them we went
quicker and quicker. We waded through ponds where
the spray flew up on all sides. Nearer and nearer we
came, and by the dark water -sky before us, which con-
tinually rose higher, we could see how we were drawing
LAND AT LAST 3^5
near to open water. We did not even notice bears now.
There seemed to be plenty about, tracks, both old and
new, crossing and recrossing ; one had even inspected
the tent while we were asleep, and by the fresh trail we
could see how it had come down wind in lee of us. We .
had no use for a bear now; we had food enough. We
were soon able to see the open water under the wall of
the glacier, and our steps lengthened even more. As I
was striding along I thought of the march of the Ten
Thousand through Asia, when Xenophon's soldiers, after
a years war against superior forces, at last saw the sea
from a mountain and cried, *Thalatta! thalatta!' Maybe
this sea was just as welcome to us after our months in
the endless white drift-ice.
" At last, at last, I stood by the edge of the ice. Be-
fore me lay the dark surface of the sea, with floating
white floes; far away the glacier wall rose abruptly from
the water; over the whole lay a sombre, foggy light.
Joy welled up in our hearts at this sight, and we could
not give it expression in words. Behind us lay all our
troubles, before us the waterway home. I waved my
hat to Johansen, who was a little way behind, and he
waved his in answer and shouted * Hurrah !* Such an
event had to be celebrated in some way, and we did it
by having a piece of chocolate each.
" While we were standing there looking at the water
the large head of a seal came up, and then disappeared
silently ; but soon more appeared. It is very reassuring
336 FARTHEST NORTH
to know that we can procure food at any minute we
like.
" Now came the rigging of the kayaks for the voy-
age. Of course, the better way would have been to pad-
dle singly, but, with the long, big sledges on the deck,
this was not easy, and leave them behind I dared not ;
we might have good use for them yet. For the time
being, therefore, there was nothing else to be done but
to lash the two kayaks together side by side in our usual
manner, stiffen them out with snow-shoes under the
straps, and place the sledges athwart them, one before
and one behind.
" It was sad to think we could not take our two last
dogs with us, but we should probably have no further
use for them, and it would not have done to take them
with us on the decks of our kayaks. We were sorry to
part with them ; we had become very fond of these two
survivors. Faithful and enduring, they had followed us
the whole journey through; and, now that better times
had come, they must say farewell to life. Destroy them
in the same way as the others we could not; we sacri-
ficed a cartridge on each of them. I shot Johansen's,
and he shot mine.
" So then we were ready to set off. It was a real
pleasure to let the kayaks dance over the water and
hear the little waves plashing against the sides. For
two years we had not seen such a surface of water be-
fore us. We had not gone far before we found that the
i p
LAND AT LAST 339
wind was so good that we ought to make use of it, and
so we rigged up a sail on our fleet. We glided easily
before the wind in towards the land we had so longed for
all these many months. What a change, after having
forced one's way inch by inch and foot by foot on ice !
The mist had hidden the land from us for a while, but
now it parted, and we saw the glacier rising straight in
front of us. At the same moment the sun burst forth,
and a more beautiful morning I can hardly remember.
We were soon underneath the glacier, and had to lower
our sail and paddle westward along the wall of ice, which
was from 50 to 60 feet in height, and on which a landing
was impossible. It seemed as if there must be little
movement in this glacier; the water had eaten its way
deep underneath it at the foot, and there was no noise
of falling fragments or the cracking of crevasses to be
heard, as there generally is with large glaciers. It was
also quite even on the top, and no crevasses were to be
seen. Up the entire height of the wall there was strati-
fication, which was unusually marked. We soon dis-
covered that a tidal current was running westward along
the wall of the glacier with great rapidity, and took ad-
vantage of it to make good progress. To find a camp-
ing-ground, however, was not easy, and at last we were
reduced to taking up our abode on a drifting floe. It
was glorious, though, to go to rest in the certainty that
we should not wake to drudgery in the drift-ice.
" When we turned out to-day we found that the ice
340 FARTHEST NORTH
had packed around us, and I do not know yet how we
shall get out of it, though there is open water not far off
to our west.
" Thursday, August 8th. After hauling our intpedi-
menta over some floes we got into open water yesterday
without much difficulty. When we had reached the
edge of the water we made a paddle each from our snow-
shoe-staffs, to which we bound blades made of broken-off
snow-shoes. They were a great improvement on the
somewhat clumsy paddles, with canvas blades lashed to
bamboo sticks. I was very much inclined to chop off
our sledges, so that they would only be half as long as
before; by so doing we could carry them on the after-
deck of the kayaks, and could thus each paddle alone,
and our advance would be much quicker than by pad-
dling the twin kayaks. However, I thought, perhaps, it
was unadvisable. The water looked promising enough
on ahead, but there was mist, and we could not see far ;
we knew nothing of the country or the coast we had
come to, and might yet have good use for the sledges.
We therefore set off in our double kayak, as before, with
the sledges athwart the deck fore and aft.
" The mist soon rose a little. It was then a dead calm ;
the surface of the water lay like a great mirror before us,
with bits of ice and an occasional floe drifting on it. It
was a marvellously beautiful sight, and it was indeed
glorious to sit there in our light vessels and glide over
the surface without any exertion. Suddenly a seal rose
LAND AT LAST 34 1
in front of us, and over us flew continually ivory-gulls
and fulmars and kittiwakes. Little auks we also saw,
and some Ross's gulls, and a couple of terns. There
was no want of animal life here, nor of food when we
should require it.
" We found open water, broader and broader, as we
paddled on our way beside the wall of ice ; but it would
not clear so that we could see something of our surround-
ings. The mist still hung obstinately over it.
" Our course at first lay west to north (magnetic) ; but
the land always trended more and more to the west and
southwest ; the expanse of water grew greater, and soon
it widened out to a large sea, stretching in a south-
westerly direction. A breeze sprang up from the north-
northeast, and there was considerable motion, which was
not pleasant, as in our double craft the seas continually
washed up between the two and wetted us. We put in
towards evening and pitched the tent on the shore-ice,
and just as we did so it began to rain, so that it was high
time to be under a roof.
" Friday, August 9th. Yesterday morning we had
again to drag the sledges with the kayaks over some ice
which had drifted in front of our camping-ground, and
during this operation I managed to fall into the water and
get wet. It was with difficulty we finally got through and
out into open water. After a while w^e again found our
way closed, and were obliged to take to hauling over some
floes, bat after this we had good open water the whole day.
342 FARTHEST NORTH
It was a northeasterly wind which had set the ice towards
the land, and it was lucky we had got so far, as behind us,
to judge by the atmosphere, the sea was much blocked.
The mist hung over the land so that we saw little of it.
According as we advanced we were able to hold a more
southerly course, and, the wind being nearly on the quarter,
we set sail about i o'clock, and continued sailing all day
till we stopped yesterday evening. Our sail, however, was
interrupted once when it was necessary to paddle round
an ice-point north of where we are now ; the contrary
current was so strong that it was as much as we could do
to make way against it, and it was only after considerable
exertion that we succeeded in doubling the point. We
have seen little of the land we are skirting up to this,
on account of the mist; but as far as I can make out
it consists of islands. First there was a large island
covered with an ice-sheet ; then west of it a smaller one,
on which are the two crags of rock which first made us
aware of the vicinity of land ; next came a long fjord or
sound, with massive shore-ice in it ; and then a small,
low headland, or rather an island, south of which we are
now encamped. This shore-ice lying along the land is
very remarkable. It is unusually massive and uneven ;
it seems to be composed of huge blocks welded together,
which in a great measure, at any rate, must proceed from
the ice -sheet. There has also, perhaps, been violent
pressure against the land, which has heaved the sea-ice
up together with pieces of ice from the calving of the
LAND AT LAST 343
glacier, and the whole has frozen together into a con-
glomerate mass. A medium -sized iceberg lay off the
headland north of us, where the current was so strong.
Where we are now lying, however, there is flat fjord-ice
between the low island here and a larger one farther
south.
" This land grows more of a problem, and I am more
than ever at a loss to know where we are. It is very
remarkable to me that the coast continually trends to the
south instead of to the west. I could explain it all best
by supposing ourselves to be on the west coast of the
archipelago of Franz Josef Land, were it not that the
variation, I think, is too great, and also for the number
of Ross's gulls there still are. Not one has with cer-
tainty been seen in Spitzbergen, and if my supposition
is right, this should not be far off. Yesterday we saw
a number of them again ; they are quite as common here
as the other species of gull.
** Saturday, August loth. We went up on to the
little islet we had camped by. It was covered by a
glacier, which curved over it in the shape of a shield ;
there were slopes to all sides ; but so slight was the
gradient that our snow-shoes would not even run of them-
selves on the crust of snow. From the ridge we had
a fair view, and, as the mist lifted just then, we saw
the land about us tolerably well. We now perceived
plainly that what we had been skirting along was only
islands. The first one was the biggest. The other land,
344 FAJRTHEST NORTH
with the two rocky crags, had, as we could see, a strip of
bare land along the shore on the northwest side. Was
it there, perhaps, the Ross's gulls congregated and had
their breeding-grounds ? The island to our south also
looked larg<e ; it appeared to be entirely covered by a
glacier.* Between the islands, and as far as we could
perceive southeast and east, the sea was covered by per-
fectly flat fjord-ice, but no land was to be discerned in
that direction. There were no icebergs here, though
we saw some later in the day on the south side of the
island lying to the south of us.
*' The glacier covering the little island on which we
stood joined the fjord-ice almost imperceptibly; only a few
small fissures along the shore indicated where it probably
began. There could not be any great rise and fall in
the ice here, consequent on the tide, as the fissures
would then, as a matter of course, have been consider-
ably larger. This seemed remarkable, as the tidal cur-
rent ran swift as a river here. On the west side of the
island there lay in front of the glacier a rampart of ice
and snow, which was probably formed of pieces of gla-
cier-ice and sea-ice welded together. It had the same
character as the massive shore-ice which we had seen
previously running along the land. This rampart went
♦ The first island I called ** Eva's Island," the second " Liv's Island,"
and the little one we were then on ** Adelaide's Island." The fourth
island south of us had, perhaps, already been seen by Payer, and named
by him '* Freeden Island." The whole group of islands I named •' Hvidt-
enland " (White Land).
LAND AT LAST 345
over imperceptibly with an even slope into the glacier
within it.
" About three in the afternoon we finally set off in
open water and sailed till eight or so in the evening;
the water was then closed, and we were compelled to
haul the fleet over flat ice to open water on the other
side. But here, too, our progress seemed blocked, and
as the current was against us we pitched the tent."
On August loth we were "compelled partly to haul
our sledges over the ice, partly to row in open water in
a southwesterly direction. When we reached navigable
waters again, we passed a flock of walruses lying on a
floe. It was a pleasure to see so much food collected at
one spot, but we did not take any notice of them, as, for
the time being, we have meat and blubber enough. After
dinner we managed, in the mist, to wander down a long
bay into the shore-ice, where there was no outlet; we had
to turn back, and this delayed us considerably. We now
kept a more westerly course, following the often massive
and uneven edge of the ice ; but the current was dead
against us, and, in addition, young ice had been forming
all day as we rowed along; the weather had been cold
and still, with falling snow, and this began to be so thick
that we could not make way against it any longer. We
therefore went ashore on the ice, and hauled until ten in
the evening.
" Bear-tracks, old and new, in all directions — both the
single ones of old bachelors and those of she-bears with
346 FARTHEST NORTH
cubs. It looks as if they had had a general rendezvous,
or as if a flock of them had roamed backward and for-
ward. I have never seen so many bear-tracks in one
place in my life.
"We have certainly done 14 or 25 miles to-day; but
still I think our progress is too slow if we are to reach
Spitzbergen this year, and I am always wondering if we
ought not to cut the ends off our sledges, so that each
can paddle his own kayak. This young ice, however,
which grows steadily worse, and the eleven degrees below
freezing we now have, make me hold my hand. Perhaps
winter is upon us, and then the sledges may be very
necessary.
" It is a curious sensation to paddle in the mist, as we
are doing, without being able to see a mile in front of us.
The land we found we have left behind us. We are
always in hopes of clear weather, in order to see where
the land lies in front of us — for land there must be.
This flat, unbroken ice must be attached to land of some
kind ; but clear weather we are not to have, it appears.
Mist without ceasing ; we must push on as it is."
After having hauled some distance farther over the ice
we came to open water again the following day (August
nth) and paddled for four or five hours. While I was
on a hummock inspecting the waters ahead, a huge
monster of a walrus came up quite near us. It lay
puffing and glaring at us on the surface of the water, but
we took no notice of it, got into our kayaks, and went
LAND AT LAST 1^7
on. Suddenly it came up again by the side of us, raised
itself high out of the water, snorted so that the air
shook, and threatened to thrust its tusks into our frail
craft. We seized our guns, but at the same moment it
disappeared, and came up immediately afterwards on the
other side, by Johansen's kayak, where it repeated the
same manoeuvre. I said to him that if the animal showed
signs of attacking us we must spend a cartridge on it.
It came up several times and disappeared again ; we
could see it down in the water, passing rapidly on its side
under our vessels, and, afraid lest it should make a hole
in the bottom with its tusks, we thrust our paddles down
into the watefr and frightened it away ; but suddenly it
came up again right by Johansen's kayak, and more
savage than ever. He sent it a charge straight in the
eyes, it uttered a terrific bellow, rolled over, and dis-
appeared, leaving a trail of blood on the water behind
it. We paddled on as hard as we could, knowing that
the shot might have dangerous consequences, but we
were relieved when we heard the walrus come up far
behind us at the place where it had disappeared.
We had paddled quietly on, and had long forgotten
all about the walrus, when I suddenly saw Johansen jump
into the air and felt his kayak receive a violent shock. I
had no idea what it was, and looked round to see if some
block of floating ice had capsized and struck the bottom
of his kayak ; but suddenly I saw another walrus rise up
in the water beside us. I seized my gun, and as the
348 FARTHEST NORTH
animal would not turn its head so that I could aim at
a spot behind the ear, where it is more easily wounded,
I was constrained to put a ball in the middle of its fore-
head ; there was no time to be lost. Happily this was
enough, and it lay there dead and floating on the water.
With great difficulty we managed to make a hole in
the thick skin, and after cutting ourselves some strips
of blubber and meat from the back we went on our way
again.
At seven in the evening the tidal current turned and
the channel closed. There was no more water to be found.
Instead of taking to hauling over the ice, we determined
to wait for the opening of the channel when the tide
should turn next day, and meanwhile to cut off the
ends of our sledges, as I had so long been thinking of
doing, and make ourselves some good double paddles,
so that we could put on greater pace, and, in our single
kayaks, make the most of the channel during the time
it was open. While we were occupied in doing this the
mist cleared off at last, and there lay land stretched out
in front of us, extending a long way south and west from
S.E. right up to N.N.W. It appeared to be a chain of
islands with sounds between them. They were chiefly
covered with glaciers, only here and there were perpen-
dicular black mountain-walls to be seen. It was a sight
to make one rejoice to see so much land at one time.
But where were we ? This seemed a more difficult ques-
tion to answer than ever. Could we, after all, have ar-
LAND AT LAST 349
rived at the east side of Franz Josef Land ? It seemed
very reasonable to suppose this to be the case. But then
we must be very far east, and must expect a long voyage
before we could reach Cape Fligely, on Crown Prince
Rudolf Land. Meanwhile we worked hard to get the
sledges ready; but as the mist gradually lifted and it
became clearer and clearer, we could not help continu-
ally leaving them, to climb up on to the hummock be-
side us to look at the country, and speculate on this
insoluble problem. We did not get to bed till seven in
the morning of August 12th.
"Tuesday, August 13th. After having slept a few
hours, we turned out of the bag agai^ rot the current
had turned, and there was a wide chaaoH. In our
single kayaks we made good headw<ty^a||Listfter going
about five miles the channel closedJpJWwe had to
clamber on to the ice. We thougULgS^dvisable to
wait until the tidal current turned, anc^ee if there were
not a channel running farther. If not, we must lash
proper grips of wood to our curtailed sledges, and com-
mence hauling towards a sound running through the
land, which I see about W.N.W. (true), and which, ac-
cording to Payer's chart, I take to be Rawlinson's
Sound."
But the crack did not open, and when it came to the
point we had to continue on our way hauling.
"Wednesday, August 14th. We dragged our sledges
and loads over a number of floes and ferried across lanes,
350 FARTHEST NORTH
m
arriving finally at a lane which ran westward, in which
we could paddle ; but it soon packed together again, and
we were stopped. The ivory- gulls are very bold, and
last night stole a piece of blubber lying close by the
tent wall."
The following day we had to make our way as well as
we could by paddling short distances in the lanes or
hauling our loads over floes smaller or larger, as the
case might be. The current, which was running like
a mill - race, ground them together in its career. Our
progress with our short, stumpy sledges was nothing
very great, and of water suitable for paddling in we
found less artd less. We stopped several times and
waited for rfi^ ic^* to open at the turn of the tide, but
it did not ^^ «q, and on the morning of August 15th
we gave it-^^^^^^^ed inward, and took to the shore-ice
for good. ViJ^ld £t our course westward towards the
sound we hadv^ifen for several days now, and had
struggled so to reach. The surface of the ice was
tolerably even and we got over the ground well. On
the way we passed a frozen-in iceberg, which was the
highest we saw in these parts — some 50 to 60 feet, I
should say.* I wished to go up it to get a better view
♦ Icebergs of considerable size have been described as having been
seen off Franz Josef Land, but I can only say with reference to this that
during the whole of our voyage through this archipelago we saw nothing
of the kind. The one mentioned here was the biggest of all those we
came across, and they were, compared with the Greenland icebergs, quite
insignificant masses of glacier- ice.
LAND AT LAST 353
of our environment, but it was too steep, and we did
not get higher than a third part up the side.
" In the evening we at last reached the islands we had
been steering for for the last few days, and for the first
time for two years had bare land under foot. The
delight of the feeling of being able to jump from block
to block of granite * is indescribable, and the delight
was not lessened when in a little sheltered corner among
the stones we found moss and flowers, beautiful poppies
{Papaver nudicanle) Saxifraga nivalis, and a Stellaria
{spj\ It goes without saying that the Norwegian flag
had to wave over this our first bare land, and a banquet
was prepared. Our petroleum, meanwhile, had given
out several days previously, and we had to contrive
another lamp in which train-oil could be used. The
smoking hot lobscouse, made of pemmican and the last
of our potatoes, was delicious, and we sat inside the tent
and kicked the bare grit under us to our heart's content.
** Where we are is becoming more and more incom-
prehensible. There appears to be a broad sound west
of us, but what is it ? The island! we are now on, and
where we have slept splendidly (this is written on the
morning of August i6th) on dry land, with no melting
of the ice in puddles underneath us, is a long moraine-
like ridge running about north and south (magnetic),
♦ I have called it granite in my diary, but it was in reality a very
coarse-grained basalt. The specimens I took have unfortunately been
lost.
t " Houen's Island."
II.— 23
354 FARTHEST NORTH
and consists almost exclusively of small and large — gen-
erally very large — blocks of stone, with, I should say,
occasional stationary crags. The blocks are in a meas-
ure rounded off, but I have found no striation on them.
The whole island barely rises above the snow-field in
which it lies, and which slopes in a gradual decline down
to the surrounding ice. On our west there is a bare
island, somewhat higher, which we have seen for several
days. Along the shore there is a decided strand-line
(terrace). North of us are two small islets and a small
rock or skerry.
"As I mentioned before (August 13th) I had at
first supposed the sound on our west to be Rawlinson s
Sound, but this now appeared impossible, as there was
nothing to be seen of Dove Glacier, by which it is
bounded on one side. If this was now our position, we
must have traversed the glacier and Wilczek Land with-
out noticing any trace of either; for we had travelled
westward a good half degree south of Cape Buda-Pesth.
The possibility that we could be in this region we conse-
quently now held to be finally excluded. We must have
come to a new land in the western part of Franz Josef
Land or Archipelago, and so far west that we had seen
nothing of the countries discovered by Payer. But so
far west that we had not even seen anything of Oscar s
Land, which ought to be situated in 82° N. and 52° E. ?
This was indeed incomprehensible; but was there any
other explanation }
LAND AT LAST 355
" Saturday, August 1 7th. Yesterday was a good day.
We are in open water on the west coast of Franz
Josef Land, as far as I can make out, and may again
hope to get home this year. About noon yesterday we
walked across the ice from our moraine-islet to the high-
er island west of us. As I was ready before Johansen, I
went on first to examine the island a little. As he was
following me he caught sight of a bear on the level ice
to leeward. It came jogging up against the wind straight
towards him. He had his gun ready, but when a little
nearer the bear stopped, reconsidered the situation, sud-
denly turned tail, and was soon out of sight.
" This island* we came to seemed to me to be one of
the most lovely spots on the face of the earth. A beauti-
ful flat beach, an old strand-line with shells strewn about,
a narrow belt of clear water along the shore, where snails
and sea-urchins [Echiims) were visible at the bottom and
amphipoda w^ere swimming about. In the cliffs over-
head were hundreds of screaming little auks, and beside
us the snow-buntings fluttered from stone to stone with
their cheerful twitter Suddenly the sun burst forth
through the light fleecy clouds, and the day seemed to
be all sunshine. Here were life and bare land ; we were
no longer on the eternal drift-ice! At the bottom of
the sea just beyond the beach I could see whole forests
of seaweed {Lamifiaria and Fucus). Under the cliffs
* "Torup's Island."
356 FARTHEST NORTH
here and there were drifts of beautiful rose -colored
snow.*
" On the north side of the island we found the breed-
ing-place of numbers of black-backed gulls ; they were
sitting with their young in ledges of the cliffs. Of course
we had to climb up and secure a photograph of this
unusual scene of family life, and as we stood there high
up on the cliff's side we could see the drift-ice whence
we had come. It lay beneath us like a white plain, and
disappeared far away on the horizon. Beyond this it
was we had journeyed, and farther away still the Fram
and our comrades were drifting yet.
" I had thought of going to the top of this island to
get a better view, and perhaps come nearer solving the
problem of our whereabouts. But when we were on the
west side of it the mist came back and settled on the
top ; we had to content ourselves with only going a little
way up the slope to look at our future course westward.
Some way out we saw^ open water; it looked like the sea
itself, but before one could get to it there was a good
deal of ice. We came down again and started off.
Along the land there was a channel running some dis-
tance farther, and we tried it, but it was covered every-
where with a thin layer of new ice, which we did not dare
* This color is owing to a beautiful minute red alga, which grows on
the snow (generally SpaercUa nivalis). There were also some yellowish-
green patches in this snow, which must certainly be attributed to another
species of alga.
LAND AT LAST 357
to break through in our kayaks, and risk cutting a hole
in them ; so, finally, a little way farther south we put in
to drag up the kayaks and take to the ice again. While
we were doing this one huge bearded seal after another
stuck its head up by the side of the ice and gazed won-
deringly at us with its great eyes ; then, with a violent
header, and splashing the water in all directions, it would
disappear, to come up again soon afterwards on the other
side. They kept playing around us, blowing, diving, re-
appearing, and throwing themselves over so that the
water foamed round them. It would have been easy
enough to capture one had we required it.
"At last, after a good deal of exertion, we stood at the
margin of the ice ; the blue expanse of water lay before
us as far as the eye could reach, and we thought that for
the future we had to do with it alone. To the north*
there was land, the steep, black, basalt cliffs of which fell
perpendicularly into the sea. We saw headland after
headland standing out northward, and farthest off of all
we could descry a bluish glacier. The interior was
everywhere covered with an ice-sheet. Below the clouds,
and over the land, was a strip of ruddy night sky, which
was reflected in the melancholy, rocking sea.
" So we paddled on along the side of the glacier
which covered the whole country south of us. We
became more and more excited as we approached the
♦ It proved later to be Crown Prince Rudolf's Land.
358 FARTHEST NORTH
headland to the west. Would the coast trend south
here, and was there no more land westward ? It was
this we expected to decide our fate — decide whether we
should reach home that year or be compelled to winter
somewhere on land. Nearer and nearer we came to it
along the edge of the perpendicular wall of ice. At last
we reached the headland, and our hearts bounded with
joy to see so much water — only water — westward, and the
coast trending southwest. We also saw a bare moun-
tain projecting from the ice-sheet a little way farther on ;
it was a curious high ridge, as sharp as a knife -blade.
It was as steep and sharp as anything I have seen ; it
was all of dark, columnar basalt, and so jagged and
peaked that it looked like a comb. In the middle of
the mountain there was a gap or couloir, and there we
crept up to inspect the sea-way southward. The wall of
rock was anything but broad there, and fell away on the
south side in a perpendicular drop of several hundred
feet. A cutting wind was blowing in the couloir. While
we were lying there, I suddenly heard a noise behind me,
and on looking around I saw two foxes fighting over a
little auk which they had just caught. They clawed and
tugged and bit as hard as they could on the very edge
of the chasm ; then they suddenly caught sight of us, not
twenty feet away from them. They stopped fighting,
looked up vvonderingly, and began to run around and
peep at us, first from one side, then from the other. Over
us myriads of little auks flew backward and forward.
LAND AT LAST
A I'ADDLE ALONG THE EDGE OF THE ICE
screaming shrilly from the ledges in the mountain-side.
So far as we could make out, there appeared to be open
sea along the land to the westward. The wind was fa-
vorable, and although we were tired we decided to take
advantage of the opportunity, have something to eat, rig
SOo FARTHEST NORTH
up mast and sail on our canoes, and get afloat. We
sailed till the morning, when the wind went down, and
then we landed on the shore-ice again and camped.*
** I iun as happy as a child in the thought that we are
now iU last tvallv on tlu» west coast of Franz Josef Land
wilh open water before us, and independent of ice and
'' W e\ln\^vlav. August 24th. The vicissitudes of this
hie w^ll u\^vei eonie to an end. When I wrote last I was
\\\\\ ol hope and courage; and here we are stopped by
i^<u*s>*> ol WiMlher for four days and three nights, with the
i\ e pai ketl as tight as it can be against the coast. We
nee holhing but pilcd-up ridges, hummocks, and broken
i( r in all directions. Courage is still here, but hope —
Ihe luipe of soon being home — that was relinquished a
lohfj time ago, and before us lies the certainty of a long,
dark winter in these surroundings.
*' It was at midnight between the 17th and i8th that we
hi*t off from our last camping-ground in splendid weather.
Though it was cloudy and the sun invisible, there was
along the horizon in the north the most glorious ruddy
glow with golden sun -tipped clouds, and the sea lay
shining and dreamy in the distance: a marv^ellous night.
. . . On the surface of the sea, smooth as a mirror,
without a block of ice as far as the eye could reach, glided
the kayaks, the water purling off the paddles at every
♦ Off BrOgger's Foreland.
LAND AT LAST 3^3
silent stroke. It was like being in a gondola on the
Canale Grande. But there was something almost un-
canny about all this stillness, and the barometer had
gone down rapidly. Meanwhile, we sped towards the
headland in the south -southwest, which I thought was
about 12 miles off.* After some hours we espied ice
ahead, but both of us thought that it was only a loose
chain of pieces drifting with the current, and we paddled
confidently on. But as we gradually drew nearer we saw
that the ice was fairly compact, and extended a greater
and greater distance ; though from the low kayaks it
was not easy to see the exact extent of the pack. We
accordingly disembarked and climbed up on a hummock
to find out our best route. The sight which met us
was anything but encouraging. Off the headland we
were steering for were a number of islets and rocks, ex-
tending some distance out to sea ; it was they that were
locking the ice, which lay in every direction, between
them and outside them. Near us it was slack, but farther
off it looked much worse, so that further advance by sea
was altogether out of the question. Our only expedient
was to take to the edge of the shore-ice, and hope for
the chance that a lane might run along it some way far-
ther on. On the way in we passed a seal lying on a floe,
and as our larder was beginning to grow empty, I tried to
get a shot at it, but it dived into the water before we came
within range.
* Clements Markhams Foreland,
?04 FARTHEST NORTH
" As we were paddling along through some small bits
of ice my kayak suddenly received a violent shock from
underneath. I looked round in amazement, as I had
not noticed any large piece of ice hereabouts. There
was nothing of the kind to be seen either, but worse
enemies were about. No sooner had I glanced down
than I saw a huge walrus cleaving through the water
astern, and it suddenly came up, raised itself and stood on
end just before Johansen, who was following in my wake.
Afraid lest the animal should have its tusks through the
deck of his craft the next minute, he backed as hard
as he could and felt for his gun, which he had down
in the kayak. I was not long either in pulling my gun
out of its cover. The animal crashed snorting into the
water again, however, dived under Johansen's kayak, and
came up just behind him. Johansen, thinking he had
had enough of such a neighbor, scrambled incontinently
oil to the floe nearest him. After having waited awhile,
with my gun ready for the walrus to come up close by
me, I followed his example. I very nearly came in for
the cold bath which the walrus had omitted to give me,
for the edge of the ice gave way just as I set my foot on
it, and the kayak drifted off with me standing upright in
it, and trying to balance it as best I could, in order not
to capsize. If the walrus had reappeared at that mo-
ment I should certainly have received it in its own ele-
ment. Finally, I succeeded in getting up on to the ice, and
for a long time afterwards the walrus swam round and
LAND AT LAST 3^5
round our floe, where we made the best of the situation
by having dinner. Sometimes it was near Johansen's
kayak, sometimes near mine. We could see how it
darted about in the water under the kayaks, and it had
evidently the greatest desire to attack us again. We
thought of giving it a ball to get rid of it, but had no
great wish to part with a cartridge, and, besides, it only
showed us its nose and forehead, which are not exactly
the most vital spots to aim at when one's object is to
kill with one shot. It was a great ox -walrus. There
is something remarkably fantastic and prehistoric about
these monsters. I could not help thinking of a merman,
or something of the kind, as it lay there just under the
surface of the water, blowing and snorting for quite a
long while at a time, and glaring at us with its round
glassy eyes. After having continued in this way for
some time, it disappeared just as tracklessly as it had
come ; and as we had finished our dinner we were able
to go on our way again, glad, a second time, not to have
been upset or destroyed by its tusks. The most curious
thing about it was that it came so entirely without warn-
ing— suddenly rising up from the deep. Johansen had
certainly heard a great splash behind him some time be-
fore, which he took to be a seal, but perhaps it may have
been the walrus.
" The lane along the shore-ice gave us little satisfac-
tion, as it was completely covered with young ice and we
could make no way. In addition to this, a wind from the
366 FARTHEST NORTH
S.S.W. sprang up, which drove the ice on to us, so there
was nothing for it but to put in to the edge of the ice
and wait until it should slacken again. We spread out
the bag, folded the tent over us, and prepared for rest in
the hope of soon being able to go on. But this was
not to be ; the wind freshened, the ice packed tighter and
tighter, there was soon no open water to be seen in any
direction, and even the open sea, whence we had come,
disappeared; all our hopes of getting home that year
sank at one blow. After a while we realized that there
was nothing to be done but to drag our loads farther
in on to the shore-ice and camp. To try and haul the
canoes farther over this pack, which was worse than any
ice we had come across since we began our voyage,
we thought was useless. We should get very little
distance in the day, and it might cost us dear with the
kayaks on the short sledges, among all these ridges
and hummocks ; and so we lay there day and night
waiting for the wind to go down or to change. But it
blew from the same quarter the whole time, and matters
were not improved by a heavy fall of snow which made
the ice absolutely impracticable.
" Our situation was not an attractive one ; in front of us
massive broken sea-ice close by land, and the gods alone
know if it will open again this year ; a good way behind
us land* which looked anything but inviting to spend
♦ Helland's Foreland.
LAND AT LAST l^
the winter on ; around us impassable ice, and our prov-
ender very much on the decline. The south coast of
the country and Eira Harbor now appeared to our im-
agination a veritable land of Canaan, and we thought
that if only we were there all our troubles would be over.
We hoped to be able to find Leigh Smith's hut there, or,
at any rate, some remains of it, so that we should have
something to live in ; and we also hoped that where there
no doubt was much open water it would be easy to find
game. We regretted not having shot some seals while
they were numerous ; on the night when we left our last
camping -place there were plenty of them about. As
Johansen was standing on the edge of the ice doing
something to his kayak, a seal came up just in front of
him. He thought it was of a kind he had not seen be-
fore, and shouted to me. But at the same moment up
came one black poll after another quiet and silent, from
ten to twenty in number, all gazing at him with their
great eyes. He was quite nonplussed, thought there was
something uncanny about it, and then they disappeared
just as noiselessly as they had come.
" I consoled him by telling him they really were of
a kind we had not seen before on our journey ; they
were young harp, or saddleback seal {P/ioca groeiilan-
died). We saw several schools of them again later in
the day.
" Meanwhile we killed time as best we could — chiefly
by sleeping. On the early morning of the 21st, just as I
II.— 24
370 FARTHEST NORTH
lay thinking what would become of us if the ice should
not slacken and we had no opportunity of adding to our
larder — the chances, I thought, did not seem very prom-
ising— I heard something pawing and moving outside.
It might, as usual, be the packing of the ice, but still
I thought it was more like something on four legs. I
jumped up, saying to Johansen that it must be a bear,
and then I suddenly heard it sniffing by the tent wall.
I peeped out through some holes in one side of it and
saw nothing ; then I went across to a big hole on the
other side of the tent, and there I saw an enormous bear
just outside. It caught sight of me, too, at the same
moment and slunk away, but then stopped again and
looked at the tent. I snatched my gun down from the
tent-pole, stuck it through the hole, and sent the bear a
ball in the middle of the chest. It fell forward; but
raised itself again and struggled off, so I had to give it
the contents of the other barrel in the side. It still
staggered on, but fell down between some hummocks a
little way off. An unusually large he-bear, and for the
time all our troubles for food were ended. The wind,
however, continued steadily from the same quarter. As
there was not much shelter' where we were encamped,
and, furthermore, as we were uncomfortably near the
ridge where the ice was continually packing, we removed
and took up our abode farther in on the shore-ice, where
we are still lying. Last night there was a bear about
again, but not quite so near the tent.
LAND AT LAST 37 1
" We went on an excursion inland* yesterday to see
what our prospects might be if we should be forced to
spend a winter here. I had hoped to find flatter ice
farther in, but instead it grew worse and worse the
nearer we went to land, and right in by the headland it
was towering up, and almost impassable. The ice was
piled against the very wall of the glacier. We went up
on the glacier and looked at the sound to the north of
the headland. A little way in the ice appeared to be
flatter, more like fjord-ice, but nowhere could we see lanes
where there might be a chance of capturing seal. There
was no place for a hut either about here ; while, on the
other hand, we found on the south side of the headland
quite a smiling spot where the ground was fairly level,
and where there was some herbage, and an abundance of
moss and stones for building purposes. But outside it,
again, the ice towered up on the shore in chaotic con-
fusion on all sides. It was a little more level in the
direction of the fjord or sound which ran far inland to
the south, and there it soon turned to flat fjord-ice ; but
there were no lanes there either where we could hope to
capture seal. There did not seem much prospect of
game, but we comforted ourselves with the reflection that
there were tracks of bears in every direction, and bears
would, in case of necessity, be our one resource for both
food and clothes. In the cliffs above us crowds of little
♦On Helland's Foreland.
372 FARTHEST NORTH
auks had their nests, as on all such places that we have
passed by. We also saw a fox. The rock formation was
a coarse-grained basalt ; but by the side of the glacier we
discovered a mound of loose, half-crumbled argillaceous
schist, in which, however, we did not find any fossils.
Some blocks which we thought very much like granite
were also strewn about* Everywhere along the beach
the glaciers were covered with red snow, which had a
verv beautiful effect in the sunshine.
" We were both agreed that it might be possible to
winter here, but hoped it was the first and last time we
should set foot on the spot. The way to it, too, was so
bad that we hardly knew how we should get the sledges
and kayaks there.
** To - day, at last, the change we have longed and
waited for so long has come. Last night the southwest
wind quieted down; the barometer, which I have been
tapping daily in vain, has at last begun to rise a little,
and the wind has gone round to the opposite quarter.
The question now is whether, if it keep there, it will be
able to drive the ice out again."
Here comes a great gap in my diary, and not till far
on in the winter (Friday, December 6th) do I write:
" I must at last try and patch the hole in my diary.
♦ I took specimens of the different rock formations, lichens, etc.. that
we came across ; but in the course of the winter the collection was stolen
by the foxes, and I thus brought little home from the tracts north of our
winter hut.
LAND AT LAST 373
There has been so much to see about that I have got no
writing done ; that excuse, however, is no longer availa-
ble, as we sleep nearly the whole twenty-four hours."
After having written my journal for August 24th
I went out to look for a better and more sheltered place,
as the wind had changed, and now blew straight into the
tent. I hoped, too, that this land-wind might open up
the ice, and I therefore first set off to see whether any
sign of slackening was to be discovered at the edge of
the shore-ice ; but the floes lay packed together as solidly
as ever. I found, however, a capital place for pitching
the tent, and we were busy moving thither when we
suddenly discovered that the ice had split off to the land-
ward, and already there was a broad channel. We cer-
tainly wanted the ice to open up, but not on our land-
ward side ; and now it was a question of getting across
on to the shore-ice again at any price, so as not to drift
out to sea with the pack. But the wind had risen to a
stiff breeze, and it seemed more than doubtful wheth-
er we could manage to pull up against it, even for
so short a distance as across the channel. This was
rapidly growing broader and broader. We had, how-
ever, to make an attempt, and, therefore, set off
along the edge towards a spot farther east, which we
thought would give us a little more shelter for launching
our kayaks. On arriving, however, we found that it
would be no easy matter to launch them here either
without getting them filled with water. It blew so that
374 FARTHEST NORTH
the spoondrift was driven over the sea, and the spray
was dashed far in over the ice. There was little else
to be done but to pitch our tent and wait for better
times. We were now more than ever in need of shel-
ter to keep the tent from being torn by the wind,
but, search and tramp up and down as we might,
we could find no permanent resting-place, and at last
had to content ourselves with the scant shelter of a
little elevation which we thought would do. We had
not lain long before the gusts of wind made such
onslaughts on the tent that we found it advisable to
take it down, to avoid having it torn to pieces. We
could now sleep securely in our bags beneath the pros-
trate tent, and let the wind rage above us. After a time
I awoke, and noticed that the wind had subsided so much
that we could once more raise our tent, and I crept out
to look at the weather. I was less pleasantly surprised on
discovering that we were already far out to sea ; we must
have drifted eight or ten miles from land, and between it
and us lay open sea. The land now lay quite low, far off
on the horizon. In the meantime, however, the weather
had considerably improved, and we once more set out
along the edge of the ice to try to get our kayaks
launched. But it was no easy matter. It was still blow-
ing hard, and the sea ran high. In addition to this, there
were a number of loose floes beyond, and these were in
constant motion, so that we had to be on the alert to pre-
vent the kayaks from being crushed between them. After
LAND AT LAST 377
some futile attempts we at length got afloat, but only to
discover that the wind and the waves were too stronsr;
we should scarcely be able to make any progress against
them. Our only resource, therefore, was to sail, if this
were practicable. We went alongside an ice promontory,
lashed the kayaks together, raised the mast, and again put
to sea. We soon had our single sail hoisted, and to our
unspeakable satisfaction we now found that we got along
capitally. At last we should be able to bid farewell to
the ice, where we had been compelled to abandon our
hope of reaching home that year. We now continued
sailing hour after hour, and made good progress ; but
then the wind dropped too much for our single sail, and
I ventured to set the whole double sail. Hardly had we
done so, when the wind again sprang up, and we dashed
foaming through the water. This soon, however, be-
came a little too much; the sea washed over the lee
kayak, the mast bent dangerously, and the situation did
not look very pleasant ; there was nothing for it but to
lower the sail again as quickly as possible. The single
sail was again hoisted, and we were cured for some time
of wishing to try anything more.
We sailed steadily and well the whole day, and now
at last had to pass the difficult cape; but it was evening
before we left it behind, and now the wind dropped so
much that the whole double sail had to be hoisted again,
and even then progress was slow. We kept on, how-
ever, during the night, along the shore, determined to
378
FARTHEST NORTH
make as much use of the wind as possible. We passed
a low promonton' covered by a gently sloping glacier;*
around it lay a number of islands, which must, we
thought. ha\-e held the ice fast. A little farther on
"sailing along the coast
we came under some high basaltic cliffs, and here the
wind dropped completely. As it was also hazy, and we
* As this promontory is probably the land Jackson saw farthest north
ill the spring of 1895. it has no name upon my map. It is otherwise with
ihi' inlnnds outside, which he did not notice. They are only indicated ap-
proximately (as Gcelmuyden Island and Alexander's Island), as I am not
certain of either their number or their exact situation.
LAND AT LAST 379
could discern land and islands both to right and left of
us, so that we did not know in what direction to steer,
we put in here, drew the kayaks up on shore, pitched
the tent, and cooked ourselves a good meal of warm
food, which we relished greatly, from the consciousness
of having done a good days work. Above our heads,
all up the face of the cliff, the little auks kept up a con-
tinual hubbub, faithfully supported by the ivory- gulls,
kittiwakes, burgomasters, and skuas. We slept none the
worse for that however. This was a beautiful mountain.
It consisted of the finest columnar basalt one could wish
to see, with its buttresses and niches up the face of the
cliff, and its countless points and spires along every
crest, reminding one of Milan Cathedral. From top to
bottom it was only column upon column ; at the base
they were all lost in the talus.
When we turned out the following morning, the
weather had so far cleared that we could better see
the way we ought to take. It appeared as if a deep
fjord or sound ran in eastward in front of us; and
our way distinctly lay round a promontory which we
had to the S.S.W. on the other side of the fjord. In
that direction the water appeared to be open, while
within the fjord lay solid ice, and out to sea drift-ice
lay everywhere. Through the misty atmosphere we
could also distinguish several islands.* Here, too, as
* These three islands, whose bearings we were subsequently enabled to
take, and which we could see from our winter hut, are probably the land
38o FARTHEST NORTH
we usually found in the morning, a great quantity of
ice had drifted in in the course of the night — great, flat,
and thin floes, which had settled themselves in front of
us — and it looked as if we should have hard work to get
out into open water. Things went a little better than
we expected, however, and we got through before it
closed in entirely. In front of us now lay open water
right past the promontory far ahead; the weather was
good, and everything seemed to promise a successful
day. As it began to blow a little from the fjord, and we
hoped it might become a sailing-wind, we put in beside
a little rocky island, which looked just like a great stone*
sticking up out of the sea, and there rigged up mast and
sail. But the sailing-wind came to nothing, and we
were soon obliged to unrig and take to paddling. We
had not paddled far when the wind went round to the
opposite quarter, the southwest. It increased rapidl}^
and soon the sea ran high, the sky became overcast in
the south, and it looked as if the weather might become
stormy. We were still several miles from the land on
the other side of the fjord, and we might have many
hours of hard paddling before we gained it. This land,
too, looked far from inviting, as it lay there, entirely
which Jackson saw and took to be '* King Oscar Land." In consequence
of his having seen them from only one point (his Cape Fisher), due south,
in 8i°, he has placed them 40' too far north, in 82^), having overestimated
their distance. (See his map in the Geographical J oitrnaly Vol. VII., No. 6,
December, 1896, London.)
* Called Steinen on the map.
LAND AT LAST 383
covered with glacier from the summit right to the shore;
only in one place did a little rock emerge. To leeward
we had the margin of the shore-ice, low, and affording no
protection. The waves broke right upon it, and it would
not be a good place to seek refuge in, should such a
proceeding become necessary; it would be best to get
in under land and see how the weather would turn out.
We did not like the prospect of once more being en-
closed in the drift-ice; we had had enough of that by
this time, so we made for some land which lay a little
way behind us, and looked very inviting. Should matters
turn out badly, a good place for wintering in might be
found there.
Scarcely had I set foot on land when I saw a bear a
little way up the shore and drew up our kayaks to go
and shoot it. In the meantime it came shambling along
the shore towards us, so we lay down quietly behind the
kayaks and waited. When close up to us it caught
sight of our footprints in the snow, and while it was
sniffing at them Johansen sent a bullet behind its
shoulder. The bear roared and tried to run, but the
bullet had gone through the spine, and the hind part of
its body was paralyzed and refused to perform its func-
tions. In perplexity the bear sat down, and bit and tore
its hind-paws until the blood flowed; it was as if it were
chastising them to make them do their duty. Then it
tried again to move away, but with the same result ; the
hind part of its body was no longer amenable to disci-
384 FARTHEST NORTH
pline, and dragged behind, so that it could only shuffle
along on its fore -legs, going round in a ring. A ball
through the skull put an end to its sufferings.
When we had skinned it we made an excursion in-
land to inspect our new domain, and were now not a
little surprised to see two walruses lying quietly on the
ice close to the spot where I had first caught sight of
the bear. This seemed to me to show how little heed
walruses pay to bears, who will never attack them if
they can help it. I had more decisive proofs of this sub-
sequently. In the sea beyond we also saw a walrus,
which kept putting up its head and breathing so hard
that it could be heard a long way off. A little later 1
saw him approach the edge of the ice and disappear,
only to appear again in the tidal channel close to the
shore, a good way from the edge of the ice. He struck
his great tusks into the edge of the ice, while he lay
breathing hard, just like an exhausted swimmer. Then
he raised himself high up on his tusks, and looked across
the ice towards the others lying there, and then dived
down again. He soon reappeared, with a great deal of
noise, farther in, and the same performance was gone
through again. A walrus's head is not a beautiful ob-
ject as it appears above the ice. With its huge tusks,
its coarse whisker bristles, and clumsy shape, there is
something wild and goblin-like about it which, I can
easily understand, might inspire fear in more supersti-
tious times, and give rise to the idea of fabulous mon-
LAND AT LAST 385
sters, with which in ancient days these seas were thought
to swarm. At last the walrus came up in the hole be-
side which the others were lying, and raised himself a
little way up on to the edge of the ice by his tusks ; but
upon this the bigger of the two, a huge old bull, sud-
denly awoke to life. He grunted menacingly, and moved
about restlessly. The new-comer bowed his head re-
spectfully down to the ice, but soon pulled himself cau-
tiously up on to the floe, so as to get a hold with his
fore-paddle, and then drew himself a little way in. Now
the old bull was thoroughly roused. He turned round,
bellowed, and floundered up to the new-comer in order
to dig his enormous tusks into his back. The latter,
who appeared to be the old bulls equal both as regards
tusks and size, bowed humbly, and laid his head down
upon the ice just like a slave before his sultan. The
old bull returned to his companion, and lay quietly down
as before, but no sooner did the new-comer stir, after
having lain for some time in this servile posture, than
the old bull grunted and thrust at him, and he once
more respectfully drew back. This was repeated sev-
eral times. At length, after much manoeuvring back-
ward and forward, the new-comer succeeded in drawing
himself on to the floe, and finally up beside the others.
I thought the tender passion must have something to
do with these proceedings ; but I discovered afterwards
that all three were males. And it is in this friendly
manner that walruses receive their guests. It appears
II.— 25
1^ FARTHEST XORTH
rc be X sDecfaHv chosen member of the flock that has
riese hirscitable c:ities to perform. I am inclined
X think it is the leader, who is asserting his dignity,
and Tishes tc impress upon ever}- new-comer that he
is X be :ceved. These anrmx's must be exceedingly
?ccial:le. -vherr. ir !?i>tre of such treatment thev thus
cocscmtiv seek oce inochers society, and ali^i-aN-s lie
ciose tcg^cher. Wlten we returned a little later to
\x"k -ir them Juiocher hod arrived, and bv the follow-
\xi^ rrtorTiia^C six lav there side bv side. It is not
ej2>v tc^ beiie^-e that ihese lumps Mng on the ice are
living r:i:mjLSw \V:th head drawn in and hind-legs flat
berteach the S.xiy. they will lie modonless hour after
hv^ur .v.vkin^ >^ke ecormous sausages. It is easy to see
that these re^ows tie there in securit)% and fearful of
tvchirro i:t the worlA
At:cr havtr*g seen as much as we ui-anted of the wal-
ruses a: clv^se quarters^ we went back, prepared a good
tncx ttv?T> the newly slaughtered bean and lay down to
>Iec(.\ v.>r^ :he shore below the tent, the ivory-gulls were
nuiktn^ a teartul hubbub. They had gathered in scores
ttvm alt quarters and could not agree as to the fair
vUvii^oa ot the bears entrails; they fought incessantly,
nlUt^^i: the air with their angr>- cries. It is one of nature's
unasWUtitaWc tawks to have made this bird so pretty,
white ^i\tnji it such an ugly voice. At a little distance
the buixv^mosters sat solemnly looking on and uttering
thvMr somewhat more melodious notes. Out in the sea
LAND AT LAST 389
the walruses were blowing and bellowing incessantly, but
everything passed unheeded by the two weary warriors
in the tent; they slept soundly, with the bare ground
for their couch. In the middle of the night we were
awakened, however, by a peculiar sound ; it was just
like some one whimpering and crying, and making
great ado. I started up, and looked out of the peep-
hole. Two bears were standing down beside our bears
flesh, a she-bear and her young one, and both sniffing
at the bloody marks in the snow, while the she - bear
wailed as if mourning for a dear departed one. I lost
no time in seizing my gun, and was just putting it
cautiously out, when the she -bear caught sight of me
at the peep-hole, and off they both set, the mother in
front, and the young one trotting after as fast as it
could. I just let them run — we had really no use for
them — and then we turned over and went to sleep
again.
Nothing came of the storm we had feared. The
wind blew hard enough, however, to rend and tear our
now well-worn tent, and there was no shelter where
we lay. We hoped to go on on the following day, but
found, to our disappointment, that the way was blocked ;
the wind had again driven the ice in. We must remain
for the present where we were ; but in that case we
would make ourselves as comfortable as possible. The
first thing to be done was to seek for a warm, well-
sheltered place for the tent, but this was not to be
FARTHEST NORTH
found. There was nothing for it but to get something
built up of stone. We quarried stone in the debris at
the bottom of the cliff, and got together as much as
we could. The only quarrying implement we had
was a runner that had been cut off a hand-sledge ; but
our two hands were what we had to use most. We
worked away during the night. What we had at first only
intended to be a shelter from the wind grew, little by
little, into four walls ; and we now kept at it until we had
finished a small hut. It was nothing very wonderful,
WE BUILD OUR FIRST HUT
Heaven knows, not long enough for a man of my height
to lie straight inside — I had to stick my feet out at the
door — and just broad enough to admit of our lying side
by side and leave room for the cooking apparatus. It
LAND AT LAST 39 1
was worse, however, with regard to the height. There
was room to lie down, but to sit up decently straight was
an impossibility for me. The roof was made of our thin
and fragile silk tent, spread over snow-shoes and bamboo
rods. We closed the doorway with our coats, and the
walls were so loosely put together that we could see day-
light between the stones on all sides. We afterwards
called it the den, and a dreadful den it was, too ; but we
were none the less proud of our handiwork. It would
not blow down, at any rate, even though the wind did
blow right through it. When we had got our bearskin
in as a couch and lay warm and comfortable in our bag,
while a good potful of meat bubbled over the train-oil
lamp, we thought existence a pleasure ; and the fact of
there being so much smoke that our eyes became red and
the tears streamed down our cheeks could not destroy our
feeling of content.
As progress southward was blocked also on the fol-
lowing day (August 28th), and as autumn was now draw-
ing on, I at last resolved on remaining here for the
winter. I thought that we still had more than 1 38 miles
to travel in order to reach Eira Harbor or Leigh Smith's
wintering-place.* It might take us a long time to get
there, and then we were not sure of finding any hut ; and
* I now thought I could safely conclude that we were on the west coast
of Franz Josef Land, and were at this moment a little north of Leigh
Smith's most northwesterly point, Cape Lofley, which should lie a little
south of Si** north latitude, while our observation that day made us about
81** 19' north latitude.
392 FARTHEST XORTH
when we did get there, it would be more than doubtful
if, before the winter set in, there would be time to build
a house and also gather stores for the winter. It was
undoubtedly the safest plan to begin at once to prepare
for wintering while there was still plenty of game to
be had; and this was a good spot to winter in. The
first thing I should like to have done was to have shot
the walruses that had been lying on the ice during the
first day or two; but now, of course, they were gone.
The sea, however, was swarming with them ; they bel-
lowed and blew night and day, and, in order to be ready
for an encounter with them, we emptied our kayaks to
make them more easy of manipulation in this some-
what dangerous chase. While thus engaged, Johansen
caught sight of two bears — a she-bear and her cub —
coming along the edge of the ice from the south. We
lost no time in getting our guns and setting off towards
them. By the time they reached the shore they were
within range, and Johansen sent a bullet through the
mother s chest. She roared, bit at the wound, staggered
a few steps, and fell. The young one could not make
out what was the matter with its mother, and ran round,
sniffing at her. When we approached, it went off a
little way up the slope, but soon came back again and
took up a position over its mother, as if to defend her
against us. A charge of small shot put an end to its
life.
This was a good beginning to our winter store. As
LAND AT LAST 393
I was returning to the hut to fetch the seal -knives, I
heard cries in the air above me. There were actually two
geese flying south ! With what longing I looked after
them as they disappeared, only wishing that I could have
followed them to the land towards which they were now
wending their flight !
Next to food and fuel the most important thing was
to get a hut built. To build the walls of this was not
difficult; there was plenty of stone and moss. The roof
presented greater difficulty, and we had as yet no idea
what to make it of. F'ortunately, I found a sound drift-
wood pine-log thrown up on to the shore not far from
our den ; this would make a capital ridge-piece for the
roof of our future house. And if there was one, there
might be others. One of our first acts, therefore, was
to make an excursion up along the shore and search;
but all we found was one short, rotten piece of wood,
which was good for nothing, and some chips of another
piece. I then began to think of using walrus-hides for
the roof instead.
The following day (August 29th) we prepared to try
our luck at walrus-hunting. We had no great desire to
attack the animals in single kayaks ; we had had enough
of that, I thought, and the prospect of being upset or of
having a tusk driven through the bottom of the kayak
or into one's thigh was not altogether alluring. The
kayaks were therefore lashed together, and, seated
upon the ring, we put out towards the big bull which
394 FARTHEST NORTH
lay and dived just outside. We were well equipped
with guns and harpoons, and thought that it was all
quite simple. Nor was it difficult to get within range,
and we emptied our barrels into the animal's head. It
lay stunned for a moment, and we rowed towards it, but
suddenly it began to splash and whirl round in the water,
completely beside itself. I shouted out that we must
back, but it was too late : the walrus got under the
kayaks, and we received several blows underneath, in
the violence of its contortions, before it finally dived. It
soon came up again, and now the sound of its breathing
resounded on all sides, while blood streamed from its
mouth and nostrils, and dyed the surrounding water.
We lost no time in rowing up to it and pouring a fresh
volley into its head. Again it dived, and we cautiously
drew back, to avoid receiving an attack from below. It
soon appeared again, and we once more rowed up to it.
These manoeuvres were repeated, and each time it came
to the surface it received at least one bullet in the head,
and grew more and more exhausted ; but, as it always
faced us, it was difficult to give it a mortal wound behind
the ear. The blood, however, now flowed in streams.
During one of these manoeuvres I was in the act of
placing my gun hurriedly in its case on the deck, in
order to row nearer, forgetting that it was cocked, when
all at once it went off. I was rather alarmed, thinking
the ball had gone through the bottom of the kayak, and
I began feeling my legs. They were uninjured, however.
LAND AT LAST 395
and as I did not hear the water rushing in either I was
reassured. The ball had passed through the deck and
out through the side a little above the water-line. We
had now had enough of this sport, however ; the walrus
only lay gasping for breath, and just as we rowed
towards it it turned its head a little, and received
two bullets just behind the ear. It lay still, and we
rowed up to throw our harpoon; but before we got
near enough it sank and disappeared. It was a mel-
ancholy ending to the affair. In all, nine cartridges
had been expended to no purpose, and we silently
rowed to shore, not a little crestfallen. We tried no
more walrus -hunting from kayaks that day; but we
now saw that a walrus had come up on to the shore-
ice a little way off. Perhaps we were to receive com-
pensation there for the one we had just lost. It was
not long before another came up beside the first. Af-
ter having taken an observation and given them time
to compose themselves, we set off. Having bellowed
and made a horrible noise out there for some time, they
now lay asleep and unsuspecting, and we stole cautiously
up to them, I in front and Johansen close at my heels.
I first went up to the head of the nearer one, which
was lying with its back to us. As it had drawn its
head well down, and it was difficult to get a shot at
a vulnerable point, I passed behind it, and up to the
head of the other one. The animals still lay motionless,
asleep in the sun. The second was in a better position
396 FARTHEST NORTH
for a shot, and, when I saw Johansen standing ready
at the head of the first, I fired at the back of the neck.
The animal- turned over a little, and lay there dead.
At the report the first started up, but at the same moment
received Johansen's bullet. Half stunned, it turned its
gigantic body round towards us; in a moment I had
discharged the ball from my smooth-bore at it, but, like
Johansen, I hit too far forward in the head. The blood
streamed from its nostrils and mouth, and it breathed
and coughed till the air vibrated. Supporting itself
upon its enormous tusks, it now lay still, coughing blood
like a consumptive person, and quite indifferent to us.
In spite of its huge body and shapeless appearance, which
called up to the imagination bogy, giant, and kraken,
and other evil things, there was something so gently
supplicating and helpless in its round eyes as it lay there
that its goblin exterior and one s own need were forgot-
ten in pity for it. It almost seemed like murder. I put an
end to its sufferings by a bullet behind the ear, but those
eyes haunt me yet ; it seemed as if in them lay the prayer
for existence of the whole helpless walrus race. But it is
lost ; it has man as its pursuer. It cannot, however, be
denied that we rejoiced at the thought of all the meat and
blubber we had now brought down in one encounter; it
made up for the cartridges expended upon the one that
had sunk. But we had not got them on land yet, and it
would be a long piece of work to get them skinned and
cut up and brought home. The first thing we did was
LAND AT LAST 399
to go after sledges and knives. As there was a pos-
sibility, too, of the ice breaking off and being set adrift,
I also thought it wise to take the kayaks on the sledges
at the same time, for it had begun to blow a little from
the fjord. But for this fortunate precaution it is not
easy to say what would have become of us. While we
were engaged in skinning, the wind rose rapidly, and
soon became a storm. To landward of us was the
narrow channel or lane beside which the walruses had
been lying. I feared that the ice might open here, and
we drift away. While we worked I therefore kept an
eye on it to see if it grew broader. It remained un-
changed, and we went on skinning as fast as we could.
When the first walrus was half skinned, I happened
to look landward across the ice, and discovered that it
had broken off a good way from us, and that the part on
which we stood had already been drifting for some
time ; there was black water between us and the shore-
ice, and the wind was blowing so that the spray flew
from the foaming waves. There was no time to be lost ;
it was more than doubtful whether we should be able
to paddle any great distance against that wind and
sea, but as yet the ice did not appear to have drifted a
greater distance from the land than we could cross, if we
made haste. We could not bring ourselves to give up
entirely the huge animals we had brought down, and we
hurriedly cut off as much flesh as we could get at and
flung it into the kayaks. We then cut off about a
■ • • . ■
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<i. \V . '.v 1
i5TiiiiAMKn.s oc AURTtRA ItoKKAMs, iStli Nuvember 1893. Pastd Skiitcli.
400 FARTHEST NORTH
quarter of the skin, with the blubber on it, and threw it
on the top, and then set off for the shore. We had
scarcely abandoned our booty before the gulls bore down
in scores upon the half-skinned carcass. Happy creat-
ures! Wind and waves and drifting were nothing to
them; they screamed and made a hubbub and thought
what a feast they were having. As long as we could see
the carcasses as they drifted out to sea, we saw the birds
continually gathering in larger and larger flocks about
them like clouds of snow. In the meantime we were
doing our utmost to gain the ice, but it had developed
cracks and channels in every direction. We managed to
get some distance in the kayaks ; but while I was cross-
ing a wide channel on some loose floes I alighted on
such poor ice that it sank under my weight, and I had to
jump back quickly to escape a bath. We tried in sev-
eral places, but everywhere it sank beneath us and our
sledges, and there was nothing for it but to take to the
water, keeping along the lee-side of the ice. But we had
not rowed far before we perceived that it was of no use
to have our kayaks lashed together in such a wind ; we
had to row singly, and sacrifice the walrus hide and
blubber, which it then became impossible to take with us.
At present it was lying across the stern of both kayaks.
While we were busy effecting these changes we were
surrounded, before we were aware of it, by ice, and had
to pull the kayaks up hastily to save them from being
crushed. We now tried to get out at several places, but
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LAND AT LAST 40 1
the ice was in constant motion ; it ground round as in
a whirlpool. If a channel opened, we had no sooner
launched our kayaks than it once more closed violently,
and we had to snatch them up in the greatest haste.
Several times they were within a hairs-breadth of being
smashed. Meanwhile the storm was steadily increasing,
the spray dashed over us, and we drifted farther and
farther out to sea. The situation was not pleasant.
At length, however, we got clear, and now discovered,
to our joy, that by exerting our utmost strength we
could just force the kayaks on against the wind. It
was a hard pull, and our arms ached ; but still we crept
slowly on towards land. The sea was choppy and
bad, but our kayaks were good sea -boats; and even
mine, with the bullet-hole in it, did so well that I kept
to some extent dry. The wind came now and then in
such gusts that we felt as if it might lift us out of the
water and upset us ; but gradually, as we drew nearer
in under the high cliffs, it became quieter, and at last,
after a long time, we reached the shore, and could
take breath. We then rowed in smoother water alone
the shore up to our camping-place. It was with genu-
ine satisfaction that we clambered on shore that night,
and how unspeakably comfortable it was to be lying
again snugly within four walls in our little den, wet
though we were ! A good potful of meat was prepared,
and our appetite was ravenous. It was, indeed, with
sorrow that we thought of the lost walruses now drifting
ir — 26
402 FARTHEST NORTH
out there in the storm ; but we were glad that we were
not still in their company.
I had not slept long, when I was awakened by Johan-
sen, who said there was a bear outside. Even when only
half awake, I heard a strange, low grunting just outside
the doorway. I started up, seized my gun, and crept out.
A she-bear with two large cubs was going up the shore ;
they had just passed close by our door. I aimed at the
she-bear, but, in my haste, I missed her. She started
and looked round ; and as she turned her broadside to
me I sent a bullet through her chest. She gave a fear
ful roar, and all three started off down the shore. There
the mother dropped in a pool on the ice, but the young
ones ran on and rushed into the sea, dashing up the
foam as they went, and began to swim out. I hastened
down to the mother, who was striving and striving to get
out of the pool, but in vain. To save ourselves the labor
of dragging the heavy animal out, I waited until she had
drawn herself up on to the edge, and then put an end to
her existence. Meanwhile the young ones had reached
a piece of ice. It was very close quarters for two, and
only just large enough to hold them ; but there they sat,
balancing and dipping up and down in the waves. Every
now and then one of them fell off, but patiently clam-
bered up again. They cried plaintively and incessantly,
and kept looking towards land, unable to understand
why their mother was so long in coming. The wind
was still high, and they drifted quickly out to sea before
LAND AT LAST 403
it with the current. We thought they would at last
swim to land to look for their mother, and that we must
wait; we therefore hid ourselves among the stones, so
that they should not be afraid of coming on our account.
We could still hear them complaining, but the sound
became more and more distant, and they grew smaller
and smaller out there on the blue waves, till at last it
was all we could do to distinguish them as two white
dots far out upon the dark plain. We had long been
tired of this, and went to our kayaks. But here a sad
sight met our eyes. All the walrus flesh which we had
brought home with so much trouble lay scattered about
on the shore, torn and mangled; and every bit of fat or
blubber to be found on it had been devoured. The
bears must have been rummaging finely here while we
slept. One of the kayaks in which the meat had been
lying was thrown half into the water, the other high up
among the stones. The bears had been right into them
and dragged out the meat; but, fortunately, they were
none the worse, so it was easy to forgive the bears, and
we benefited by the exchange of bear s flesh for walrus
flesh.
We then launched the kayaks, and put off to chase
the young ones to land. As soon as ever they saw us on
the water they became uneasy, and while we were still
some way off one of them took to the water. The other
hesitated for a while, as if afraid of the water, while the
first waited impatiently ; but at last they both went in.
404 FARTHEST NORTH
We made a wide circuit round them, and began to drive
them towards the land, one of us on each side of them,
It was easy to make them go in whatever direction we
wanted, and Johansen could not say enough in praise of
this simple method of getting bears from one place to
another. We did not need to row hard to keep up with
them ; we went slowly and easily, but surely, towards
land. We saw several walruses in the vicinity, but fort-
unately escaped being attacked by any of them. From
the very first it was evident how much better the bear
that first went into the water swam, although it was the
smaller and thinner. It waited, however, patiently for
the other, and kept it company; but at last the pace of
the latter became too slow for its companion, who struck
out for the shore, the distance between the two growing
greater and greater. They had kept incessantly turning
their heads to look anxiously at us, and now the one that
was left behind looked round even more helplessly than
before. While I set off after the first bear, Johansen
watched the second, and we drove them ashore by our
den, and shot them there.
We had thus taken three bears on that day, and this
was a good set-off against our walruses, which had
drifted out to sea, and, what was no less fortunate, we
found the sunken walrus from the day before floating
just at the edge of the shore. We lost no time in towing
it into a place of safety in a creek and making it fast. It
made a difference to our winter store.
LAND AT LAST 405
It was late before we turned in that night after hav-
ing skinned the bears, laid them in a heap, and covered
them with the skins to prevent the gulls from getting at
them. We slept well, for we had to make up for two
nights.
It was not until September 2d that we could set to
work on the skinning of our walrus, which still lay in the
water. Close to our den there was an opening in the
strand-ice,* connecting the inner channel between the
strand-ice and the land with the outer sea. It was in
this opening that we had made it fast, and we hoped to
be able to draw it on land here; the glacier-ice went with
a gentle incline right out into the water, so that it seemed
to promise well. We rounded off the edge of the ice,
made a tackle by drawing the rope through a loop we
cut in the skin of the head, used our broken-off runner of
a sledge as a handspike at the end of the rope, and cut
notches in the ice up the beach as a fulcrum for the hand-
spike. But work and toil as we might, it was all we could
do to get the huge head up over the edge of the ice. In
the midst of this Johansen cried, " I say, look there!" I
turned. A large walrus was swimming straight up the
channel towards us. It did not seem to be in any hurry,
but only opened wide its round eyes, and gazed in aston-
* Ice which is frozen fast to the bottom, and is therefore often left
lying like an icy base along the shore even after the sea is free from ice.
On account of the warm water which comes from the land, an open
channel is often formed between this ice-base and the shore.
4o6 FARTHEST NORTH
ishment at us and at what we were doing. I suppose
that, seeing a comrade, it had come in to see what we
were doing with him. Quietly, slowly, and with dignity
it came right up to the edge where we stood. Fortu-
nately we had our guns with us, and when I approached
with mine it only rose up in the water and gazed long
and searchingly at me. I waited patiently until it turned
a little, and then sent a bullet into the back of its head.
It was stunned for a time, but soon began to move, so
that more shots were required. While Johansen ran for
cartridges and a harpoon I had to fight with it as I best
could, and try to prevent it, with a stick, from splashing
out of the channel again. At last Johansen returned,
and I did for this walrus. We were delighted over our
good fortune; but what the walrus wanted in that narrow
channel we have always wondered. These animals must
be uncommonly curious. While we were skinning the
bears two days before, a walrus with its young one came
close in to the edge of the ice and gazed at us ; it dived
several times, but always returned, and at last drew the
whole of the forepart of its body up on to the ice in
order to see better. This it did several times, and my
approaching to within a few yards of it did not drive it
away; it was only when I went up close to it with my
gun that it suddenly came to its senses and threw itself
backward into the water again, and we could see it far
below moving off with its young one by its side.
We now had two great walruses with enormous tusks
LAND AT LAST 407
floating in our channel. We tried once more to drag
one of them up, but the attempt was as unsuccessful as
before. At last we saw that our only course was to skin
them in the water; but this was neither an easy nor an
agreeable task. When at last, late in the evening, we had
got one side of one animal skinned, it was low- water; the
walrus lay on the bottom, and there was no possibility of
turning it over, no matter how we toiled and pulled. We
had to wait for high tide the following day, in order to
get at the other side.
While we were busy with the walruses that day we
suddenly saw the whole fjord white with white whales
gambolling all round as far as the eye could see. There
was an incredible number of them. In the course of an
hour they had entirely disappeared. Where they came
from and whither they went I was not able to discover.
During the succeeding days we toiled at our task of
skinning and cutting up the walruses, and bringing all up
into a safe place on the beach. It was disgusting work,
lying on the animals out in the water and having to cut
down as far as one could reach below the surface of the
water. We could put up with getting wet, for one gets
dry in time ; but what was worse was that we could not
avoid being saturated with blubber and oil and blood
from head to foot; and our poor clothes, that we should
have to live in for another year before we could change,
fared badly during those days. They so absorbed oil
that it went right through to the skin. This walrus busi-
408 FARTHEST NORTH
ness was unquestionably the worst work of the whole
expedition, and had it not been a sheer necessity we
should have let the animals lie where they were ; but we
needed fuel for the winter, even if we could have done
without the meat. When at last the task was completed,
and we had two great heaps of blubber and meat on
shore, well covered by the thick walrus hides, we were
not a little pleased.
During this time the gulls were living in luxury.
There was abundance of refuse, blubber, entrails, and
other internal organs. They gathered in large flocks
from all quarters, both ivory and glaucus gulls, and kept
up a perpetual screaming and noise both night and day.
When they had eaten as much as they could manage
they generally sat out on the ice -hummocks and chat-
tered together. When we came down to skin they with-
drew only a very little way from the carcasses, and sat
w^aiting patiently in long rows on the ice beside us, or,
led on by a few bold officers, drew continually nearer.
No sooner did a little scrap of blubber fall than two or
three ivory-gulls would pounce upon it, often at our very
feet, and fight over it until the feathers flew. Outside
the fulmars were sailing in their silent, ghost-like flight
to and fro over the surface of the water. Up and down
the edge of the shore flocks of kittiwakes moved inces-
santly, darting like an arrow, with a dull splash, towards
the surface of the water, whenever a little crustacean ap-
peared there. We were particularly fond of these birds,
LAND AT LAST 409
for they kept exclusively to the marine animals and left
our blubber alone; and then they were so light and
pretty. But up and down along the shore the skua
{Stercorarius crepida(us) chased incessantly, and every
now and again we were startled by a pitiful cry of distress
above our heads; it was a kittiwake pursued by a skua.
"IN THE WATER LAY WALRUSES
How often we followed with our eyes that wild chase up
in the air, until at last the kittiwake had to drop its booty,
and down shot the skua, catching it even before it touched
the water ! Happy creatures that can move with such
freedom up there ! Out in the water lay walruses, diving
410 FARTHEST NORTH
and bellowing, often whole herds of them ; and high up
in the air, to and fro, flew the little auks in swarms ; you
could hear the whir of their wings far off. There were
cries and life on all sides. But soon the sun will sink,
the sea will close in, the birds will disappear one after
another towards the south, the polar night will begin, and
there will be profound, unbroken silence.
It was with pleasure that we at last, on September 7th,
set to work to build our hut. We had selected a good
site in the neighborhood, and from this time forward we
might have been seen daily going out in the morning like
other laborers, with a can of drinking-water in one hand
and a gun in the other. We quarried stones up among the
debris from the cliff, dragged them together, dug out the
site, and built walls as well as we could. We had no tools
worth mentioning ; those we used most were our two
hands. The cut-ofF sledge-runner again did duty as a
pick with which to loosen the fast-frozen stones, and when
we could not manage to dig up the earth on our site with
our hands we used a snow-shoe staff with an iron ferrule.
We made a spade out of the shoulder-blade of a walrus
tied to a piece of a broken snow-shoe staff, and a mattock
out of a walrus tusk tied to the crosstree of a sledge.
They were poor things to work with, but we managed it
with patience, and little by little there arose solid walls of
stone with moss and earth between. The weather was
growing gradually colder, and hindered us not a little in
our work. The soil we had to dig in hardened, and the
LAND AT LAST 4^1
stones that had to be quarried froze fast; and there came
snow too. But great was our surprise when w^e crept out
of our den on the morning of the 12th of September to
find the most delightful thaw, with 4° (C.) of heat (39.2°
Fahr.). This was almost the highest temperature we had
experienced throughout the expedition. On every side
streams were tumbling in foaming falls down from moun-
tain and glacier, humming along merrily among the stones
down to the sea. Water trickled and tinkled everywhere;
as if by a stroke of magic, life had returned to frozen
nature, and the hill looked green all over. One could
fancy one's self far south, and forget that a long, long
winter was drawing near. The day after, everything
was changed again. The gentle gods of the south, who
yesterday had put forth their last energies, had once
more fled ; the cold had returned, snow had fallen and
covered every trace: it would not yield again. This
little strip of bare ground, too, was in the power of
the genii of the cold and darkness ; they held sway now,
right down to the sea. I stood looking out over it
How desolate and forsaken this spell • bound nature
looked! My eye fell upon the ground at my feet.
Down there among the stones, the poppy still reared
its beautiful blossoms above the snow; the last rays of
the departing sun would once more kiss its yellow
petals, and then it would creep beneath its covering to
sleep through the long winter, and awake again to new
life in the spring. Ah to be able to do the same !
412 FARTHEST NORTH
After a week's work the walls of our hut were fin-
ished. They were not high, scarcely 3 feet above the
ground; but we had dug down the same distance into
the ground, so we reckoned that it would be high enough
to stand up in. Now the thing was to get it roofed,
but this was not so easy. The only materials we had
towards it were, as before mentioned, the log we had
found and the walrus hides. The log, which was quite
12 inches across, Johansen at last, after a day's work,
succeeded in cutting in two with our little axe, and with
no less labor we rolled it up over the talus and on
to the level, and it was laid on the roof as the ridge-
piece. Then there were the hides; but they were
stiff and frozen fast to the meat and blubber heaps
which they covered. With much difficulty we at length
loosened them by using wedges of walrus tusks, stone,
and wood. To transport these great skins over the
long distance to our hut was a no less difficult matter.
However, by rolling them, carrying them, and dragging
them we accomplished this too; but to get the frozen
skins stretched over the hut was the worst of all. We
got on pretty well with three half-skins, just managing
to bend them a little; but the fourth half was frozen
quite stiff, and we had to find a hole in the ice, and sink
it in the sea, to thaw it.
It was almost a cause for anxiety, I thought, that all
this time we saw nothing of any bears. They were
what we had to live upon all through the winter, and the
LAND AT LAST 4^3
SIX we had would not go far. I thought, however, that
it might easily be accounted for, as the fjord-ice, to which
the bear prefers to keep, had taken its departure on the
day when we had nearly drifted out to sea with the
walruses, and I thought that, when the ice now formed
again, bears would appear once more. It was therefore a
relief when one morning (September 23d) I caught sight
of a bear in front of me, just as I came round the promon-
tory to look at the skin that we had in soak in the sea.
It was standing on the shore close by the skin. It had
not seen me, and I quickly drew back to let Johansen,
who was following with his gun, pass me, while I ran
back to fetch mine. When I returned, Johansen lay on
the same spot behind a stone, and had not fired. There
were two bears, one by the hut and one by the shore;
and Johansen could not get up to the one without being
seen by the other. When I had gone after my gun the
bear had turned its steps towards the hut; but just as
it reached it Johansen suddenly saw two bears paws
come quickly over the edge of the wall and hit out at
the first bear, and a head followed immediately after.
This fellow was busily gnawing at our roof hides, which
he had torn down and bent, so that we had to put them
into the sea too, to get them thawed. The first bear
had to retreat to the shore once more, where we after-
wards discovered it had drawn up our hide and had
been scraping the fat off it. Under cover of some hum-
mocks we now ran towards it. It noticed us, and set off
414 FARTHEST NORTH
running, and I was only able to send a bullet through
its body from behind. Shouting out to Johansen that
he must look after the other bear, I set off running, and
after a couple of hours* pursuit up the fjord I at last
chased it up under the wall of a glacier, where it pre-
pared to defend itself. I went right up to it, but it
growled and hissed, and made one or two attacks on me
from the elevation on which it stood before I finally put
an end to its existence. When I got back Johansen was
busy skinning the other bear. It had been alarmed by
us when we attacked the first, and had gone a long way
out over the ice; it had then returned to look for its
companion, and Johansen had shot it. Our winter store
was increasing.
The next day (September 24th), as we were setting
out to work at our hut, we saw a large herd of walruses
lying out on the ice. We had both had more than
enough of these animals, and had very little inclination
for them. Johansen was of candid opinion that we had
no need for them, and could let them lie in peace ; but
I thought it was rather improvident to have food and
fuel lying at one's very door and make no use of them,
so we set off with our guns. To steal up to the animals,
under cover of some elevations on the ice, was a matter
of small difficulty, and we had soon come within 40 feet
of them, and could lie there quietly and watch them.
The point was to choose one's victim, and make good
use of one's shot, so as not to waste cartridges. There
LAND AT LAST 4^5
were both old and young animals, and, having had more
than enough of big ones, we decided to try for the two
smallest that we could see ; we thought we had no need
of more than two. As we lay waiting for them to turn
their heads and give us the chance of a good shot we
had plenty of opportunity to watch them. They are
strange animals. They lay incessantly poking one an-
other in the back with their huge tusks, both the big
old ones and the little young ones. If one of them
turned over a little, so as to come near and disturb his
neighbor, the latter immediately raised itself, grunting,
and dug its tusks into the back of the first. It was by
no means a gentle caress, and it is well for them that
they have such a thick hide ; but, as it was, the blood
ran down the backs of several of them. The other
would, perhaps, start up too, and return the little at-
tention in the same manner. But it was when an-
other guest came up from the sea that there was a
stir in the camp; they all grunted in chorus, and one
of the old bulls that lay nearest to the new arrival
gave him some well-meant blows. The new-comer, how-
ever, drew himself cautiously up, bowed respectfully, and
little by little drew himself in among the others, who
also then gave him as many blows as time and circum-
stances would permit, until they finally composed them-
selves again, and lay quiet until another interruption
came. We waited in vain for the animals we had picked
out to turn their heads enough to let us get a good
4l6 FARTHEST NORTH
shot; but as they were comparatively small we thought
that a bullet in the middle of the forehead might be
enough for them, and at last we fired. They started up,
however, and turned over, half stunned, into the v/ater.
Then there was a commotion ! The whole herd quickly
raised their ugly heads, glared at us, and one by one
plunged out over the edge of the ice. We had hastily
loaded again, and as it was not difficult now to get a
good shot we fired, and there lay two animals, one young
and one old. Most of the others dived, only one re-
maining quietly lying, and looking wonderingly, now
at its two dead companions, and now at us as we
came up to it. We did not quite know what to do;
we thought that the two that were now lying there
would give us more than enough to do, but neverthe-
less it was tempting to take this great monster as
well, while we were about it. While Johansen was
standing with his gun, considering whether he should
fire or not, I took the opportunity of photographing
both him and the walrus. It ended, however, in our
letting it go unharmed; we did not think we could
afford to sacrifice more cartridges upon it. Meantime
the water beyond was seething with furious animals, as
they broke up the ice round about and filled the air
with their roaring. The big bull himself seemed espe-
cially anxious to get at us; he kept returning to the
edge of the ice, getting half up on to it to grunt and bel-
low at us. and look long at his dead comrades, whom he
LAND AT LAST A^7
evidently wished to take with him. But we would not
waste more cartridges upon them, and he threw himself
back, only to return again immediately. Gradually the
whole herd departed, and we could hear the big bull's
"l PHOTOGRAPHED HIM AND THE WALRUS "
grunting becoming more and more distant ; but suddenly
his huge head appeared again at the edge of the ice, clos«
to us, as he challenged us with- a roar, and then disap-
peared again as quickly as he had come. This was
repeated three or four times after our having in the inter-
vals heard him far out; but at last he disappeared entire-
418 FARTHEST NORTH
ly, and we continued our work of skinning in peace. We
very quickly skinned the smaller of the walruses ; it was
easy to manipulate compared to those we were accus-
tomed to. The other, however, was a great fellow that
could not be easily turned over in the hollow in the snow
where he lay; so we contented ourselves with skinning
one side from head to tail, and then went home again
with our blubber and skins. We now thought we should
have blubber enough for winter fuel, and had also abun-
dance of skins for covering the roof of our hut.
The walruses still kept near us for some time. Every
now and then we would hear some violent blows on the
ice from beneath, two or. three in succession, and then a
great head would burst up with a crash through the ice.
It would remain there for a time panting and puffing so
that it would be heard a long way off, and then vanish
again. On September 25th, while we were pulling our
roof hides out of the water at a hole near the shore, we
'heard the same crashing in the ice a little farther out,
and a walrus came up and then dived again. " Look
there ! It won't be long before we have him in this
hole." The words were scarcely spoken, when our hide
in the water was pushed aside and a huge head, with
bristles and two long tusks, popped up in front of us. It
gazed fixedly and wickedly at us standing there, then
there was a tremendous splash and it was gone.
Our hides were now so far softened in the sea that we
could stretch them over the roof. They were so long
LAND AT LAST 419
that they reached from one side of the hut right over the
ridge-piece down to the other side, and we stretched
them by hanging large stones at both ends, attached by
strips of hide, thus weighing them down over the edges
of the wall, and we then piled stones upon them. By the
aid of stones, moss, strips of hide, and snow to cover
"IT GAZED WICKEDLY AT US "
everything, we made the edges of the walls to some
extent close-fitting. To make the hut habitable we still
had to construct benches of stone to lie upon inside it,
and also a door. This consisted of an opening in one
420 FARTHEST NORTH
corner of the wall, which led into a short passage dug out
in the ground and subsequently roofed over with blocks
of ice, on very much the same principle as the passage to
an Eskimo's house. We had not dug this passage so
long as we wished before the ground was frozen too
hard for our implements. It was so low that we had to
creep through it in a squatting posture to get into the
hut. The inner opening was covered with a bearskin
curtain, sewed firmly to the walrus hide of the roof; the
outer end was covered with a loose bearskin laid over the
opening. It began to grow cold now, as low as —20° C.
(4° below zero, Fahr.); and living in our low den, where
we had not room to move, became more and more in-
tolerable. The smoke, too, from the oil-lamp, when we
did any cooking, always affected our eyes. We grew
daily more impatient to move into our new house, which
now appeared to us the acme of comfort. Our ever-
recurring remark while we were building was, how nice
and snug it would be when we got in, and we depicted
to each other the many pleasant hours we should spend
there. We were, of course, anxious to discover all the
bright points that we could in our existence. The hut
was certainly not large ; it was 10 feet long and 6 feet
wide, and when you lay across it you kicked the wall on
one side and butted it on the other. You could move
in it a little, however, and even I could almost stand up-
right under the roof. This was a thought which es-
pecially appealed to us. Fancy having a place sheltered
LAND AT LAST 421
from the wind where you could stretch your limbs a lit-
tle ! We had not had that since last March, on board
the Fram. It was long, however, before everything was
in order, and we would not move in until it was quite
finished.
The day we had skinned our last walruses I had
taken several tendons from their backs, thinking they
might be very useful when we made ourselves clothes for
the winter, for we were entirely without thread for that
purpose. Not until a few days afterwards (September
26th) did I recollect that these tendons had been left on
the ice beside the carcasses. I went out there to look for
them, but found, to my sorrow, that gulls and foxes had
long since made away with them. It was some comfort,
however, to find traces of a bear, which must have been
at the carcasses during the night, and as I looked about
I caught sight of Johansen running after me, making
signs and pointing out towards the sea. I turned that
way, and there was a large bear, walking to and fro and
looking at us. We had soon fetched our guns, and
while Johansen remained near the land to receive the
bear if it came that way, I made a wide circuit round it
on the ice to drive it landward, if it should prove to be
frightened. In the meantime, it had lain down out there
beside some holes, I suppose to watch for seals. I stole
up to it; it saw me and at first came nearer, but then
thought better of it, and moved away again, slowly and
majestically, out over the new ice. I had no great de-
ar.<: -v^zctAt^z^ The bear -ii>:r=d r_2rd- *:!.£
ir. or.-^ of itr fore-Icgs- =0 :ha: :t czuli use only the
other, and the t'ao h:r.<xe^T- I: kezi: on raking hold
and pul'.ir.g ii^lf up. But no jconer had :: got half
up than the ice gave -a-ay. and i: sank down again. By
degrees its movements became n~.ore and more feeble,
till at last it or/.y lay ^::II and panted. Then came a
few spasms, it^ leg? stiffened, its head sank down into
the water, and all was still. While I was walking up
and down I several times heard walru^e^ round about,
as they butted holes in the ice and put their heads
through: and I was thinking to myself that I should
soon have them here too. At that moment the bear
received a violent blow from beneath, pushing it to
LAND AT LAST 423
one side, and up came a huge head with great tusks;
it snorted, looked contemptuously at the bear, then
gazed for a while wonderingly at me as I stood on
the ice, and finally disappeared again. This had the
effect of making me think the old solid ice a little far-
ther in a pleasanter place of sojourn than the new ice.
My suspicion that the walrus entertains no fear for
the bear was more than ever strengthened. At last
Johansen came with a rope. We slipped a running
noose round the bears neck and tried to haul it out,
but soon discovered that this was beyond our power;
all we did was to break the ice under the animal,
wherever we tried. It seemed hard to have to give it
up ; it was a big bear and seemed to be unusually fat ;
but to continue in this way until we had towed up to the
edge of the thick ice would be a lengthy proceeding.
By cutting quite a narrow crack in the new ice,
only wide enough to draw the rope through, up to the
edge of a large piece of ice which was quite near,
we got pretty well out of the difficulty. It was now
an easy matter to draw the bear thither under the ice,
and after breaking a sufficiently large hole we drew it
out there. At last we had got it skinned and cut up,
and, heavily laden with our booty, we turned our steps
homeward late in the evening to our den. As we ap-
proached the beach where our kayaks were lying upon
one of our heaps of walrus blubber and meat, Johan-
sen suddenly whispered to me, " I say, look there !" I
424 FARTHEST NORTH
looked up, and there stood three bears on the heaps,
tearing at the blubber. They were a she-bear and two
young ones. " Oh dear !" said 1 ; " shall we have
to set to at bears again T I was tired, and, to tell the
truth, had far more desire for our sleeping-bag and a
good potful of meat. In a trice we had got our guns
out, and were approaching cautiously ; but they had
caught sight of us, and set off over the ice. It was with
an undeniable feeling of gratitude that we watched their
retreating forms. A little later, while I was standing
cutting up the meat and Johansen had gone to fetch
water, I heard him whistle. I looked up, and he pointed
out over the ice. There in the dusk were the three bears
coming back — our blubber-heap had been too tempting
for them. I crept with my gun behind some stones close
to the heap. The bears came straight on, looking neither
to right nor left, and as they passed me I took as good
an aim at the she-bear as the darkness would allow, and
fired. She roared, bit her side, and all three set off out
over the ice. There the mother fell, and the young ones
stood astonished and troubled beside her until we ap-
proached, when they fled, and it was impossible to get
within range of them. They kept at a respectful distance,
and watched us while we dragged the dead bear to land
and skinned it. When we went out next morning,
they were standing sniffing at the skin and meat; but
before we could get within range they saw us, and were
off again. We now saw that they had been there all
LAND AT LAST 425
night, and had eaten up their own mother's stomach,
which had contained some pieces of blubber. In the
afternoon they returned once more ; and again we
attempted, but in vain, to get a shot at them. Next
morning (Saturday, September 28th), when we crawled
out, we caught sight of a large bear lying asleep on our
blubber-heap. Johansen crept up close to it under cover
of some stones. The bear heard something moving,
raised its head, and looked round. At the same instant
Johansen fired, and the bullet went right through the
bear's throat, just below the cranium. It got slowly up,
looked contemptuously at Johansen, considered a little,
and then walked quietly away with long, measured steps,
as if nothing had happened. It soon had a couple of
bullets from each of us in its body, and fell out on the
thin ice. It was so full of food that, as it lay there, blub-
ber and oil and water ran out of its mouth on to the
ice, which began gradually to sink under its weight, un-
til it lay in a large pool, and we hastily dragged it in to
the shore, before the ice gave way beneath it. It was
one of the largest bears I have ever seen, but also one
of the leanest ; for there was not a trace of fat upon it,
neither underneath the skin nor among the entrails.
It must have been fasting for a long time and been
uncommonly hungry ; for it had consumed an incredible
quantity of our blubber. And how it had pulled it about!
First it had thrown one kayak off, then it, had scat-
tered the blubber about in all directions, scraping off
426 FARTHEST NORTH
the best of the fat upon almost every single piece ; then
it had gathered the blubber together again in another
place, and then, happy with the happiness of satiety,
had lain down to sleep upon it, perhaps so as to have
it handy when it woke up again. Previous to attack-
ing the blubber-heap it had accomplished another piece
of work, which we only discovered later on. It had
killed both the young bears that had been visiting us ;
we found them not far off, with broken skulls and frozen
stiff. We could see by the footprints how it had run
after them out over the new ice, first one and then the
other, and had dragged them on land, and laid them
down without touching them again. What pleasure it
can have in doing this I do not understand, but it must
have regarded them as competitors in the struggle for
food. Or was it, perhaps, a cross old gentleman who
did not like young people } " It is so nice and quiet
here now," said the ogre, when he had cleared the
country.
Our winter store now began quite to inspire confi-
dence.
At length, on the evening of that day, we moved into
our new hut ; but our first night there was a cold one.
Hitherto we had slept in one bag all the time, and even
the one we had made by sewing together our two blank-
ets had been fairly adequate. But now we thought it
would not be necessary to sleep in one bag any longer,
as we should make the hut so warm by burning train-oil
LAND AT LAST 4^7
lamps in it that we could very well He each in our own
berth with a blanket over us, and so we had unpicked the
bag. Lamps were made by turning up the corners of
some sheets of German silver, filling them with crushed
blubber, and laying in this, by way of a wick, some pieces
of stuff from the bandages in the medicine-bag. They
burned capitally, and gave such a good light, too, that
we thought it looked very snug ; but it neither was nor
ever would be sufficient to warm our still rather per-
meable hut, and we lay and shivered with cold all
night. We almost thought it was the coldest night we
had had. Breakfast next morning tasted excellent, and
the quantity of bear-broth we consumed in order to put
a little warmth into our bodies is incredible. We
at once decided to alter this by making along the back
wall of the hut a sleeping-shelf broad enough for us to
lie beside one another. The blankets were sewed to-
gether again, we spread bearskins under us, and were as
comfortable as we could be under the circumstances ; and
we made no further attempt to part company at night.
It was impossible to make the substratum at all even,
with the rough, angular stones which, now that every-
thing was frozen, were all we had at our disposal, and
therefore we lay tossing and twisting the whole winter to
find something like a comfortable place among all the
knobs. But it was hard, and remained so; and we al-
ways had some tender spots on our body, and even sores
on our hips, with lying. But, for all that, we slept. In
428 FARTHEST NORTH
one comer of the hut we made a little hearth to boil and
roast upon. In the roof above we cut a round hole in
the walrus hide, and made a smoke -board up to it of
bearskin. We had not used this hearth long before we
saw the necessity of building a chimney to prevent the
wind from beating down, and so filling the hut with
smoke as to make it sometimes intolerable. The only
materials we had for building this were ice and snow;
but with these we erected a grand chimney on the roof,
which served its purpose, and made a good draught. It
was not quite permanent, however; the hole in it con-
stantly widened with use, and it was not altogether guilt-
less of sometimes dripping down on to the hearth ; but
there was abundance of this building material, and it was
not difficult to renew the chimney when it was in need
of repair. This had to be done two or three times dur-
ing the course of the winter. On more exposed spots we
employed walrus flesh, bone, and such- like materials to
strengthen it.
Our cookery was as simple as possible. It consisted
in boiling bears flesh and soup (bouillon) in the morn-
ing and frying steak in the evening. We consumed
large quantities at every meal, and, strange to say, we
never grew tired of this food, but always ate it with a
ravenous appetite. We sometimes either ate blubber
with it or dipped the pieces of meat in a little oil. A
long time might often pass when we ate almost nothing
but meat, and scarcely tasted fat; but when one of us
LAND AT LAST 4^9
felt inclined for it again he would, perhaps, fish up some
pieces of burnt blubber out of the lamps, or eat what was
left of the blubber from which we had melted the lamp-
oil. We called these cakes, and thought them uncom-
monly nice, and we were always talking of how delicious
they would have been if we could have had a little sugar
on them.
We still had some of the provisions we had brought
from the Fram, but these we decided not to use during
the winter. They were placed in a depot to be kept
until the spring, when we should move on. The depot
was well loaded with stones to prevent the foxes from
running away with the bags. They were impudent
enough already, and took all the movable property they
could lay hold of. I discovered, for instance, on October
loth, that they had gone off with a quantity of odds and
ends I had left in another depot during the erection of
the hut ; they had taken everything that they could possi-
bly carry with them, such as pieces of bamboo, steel wire,
harpoons and harpoon-lines, my collection of stones, moss-
es, etc., which were stored in small sail-cloth bags. Per-
haps the worst of all was that they had gone off with a
large ball of twine, which had been our hope and comfort
when thinking of the time when we should want to make
clothes, shoes, and sleeping-bags of bearskin for the
winter ; for we had reckoned on making thread out of
the twine. It was fortunate that they had not gone off
with the theodolite and our other instruments which
430 FARTHEST NORTH
stood there; but these must have been too heavy for
them, I was angry when I made this discovery, and,
what made it more aggravating, it happened on my
birthday. And matters did not improve when, while
hunting about in the twilight on the beach above the
place where the things had been lying, to see if I could
at any rate discover tracks to show which way those
demons had taken them, I met a fox that stopped at
a distance of 20 feet from me, sat down, and uttered
some exasperating howls, so piercing and weird that I
had to stop my ears. It was evidently on its way to my
things again, and was now provoked at being disturbed.
I got hold of some large stones and flung them at it.
It ran off a little way, but then seated itself upon the
edge of the glacier and howled on, while I went home
to the hut in a rage, lay down, and speculated as to what
we should do to be revenged on the obnoxious animals.
We could not spare cartridges to shoot them with, but
we might make a trap of stones. This we determined
to do, but nothing ever came of it ; there were always so
many other things to occupy us at first, while we still
had the opportunity, before the snow covered the talus,
and while it was light enough to find suitable stones.
Meanwhile the foxes continued to annoy us. One day
they had taken our thermometer,* which we always kept
outside the hut, and gone off with it. We searched for it
* It was a registering thermometefp which was also used as a sling-
thermometer.
LAND AT LAST 433
in vain for a long time, until at last we found it buried
in a heap of snow a little way off. From that time we
were very careful to place a stone over it at night, but
one morning found that the foxes had turned over the
stone, and had gone off with the thermometer again.
The only thing we found this time was the case, which
they had thrown away a little way off. The thermom-
eter itself we were never to see again ; the snow had
unfortunately drifted in the night, so that the tracks
had disappeared. Goodness only knows what fox-hole
it now adorns ; but from that day we learned a les-
son, and henceforward fastened our last thermometer
securely.
Meanwhile time passed. The sun sank lower and
lower, until on October 15th we saw it for the last
time above the ridge to the south; the days grew rapidly
darker, and then began our third polar night.
We shot two more bears in the autumn, one on the
8th and one on the 21st of October; but from that time
we saw no more until the following spring. When I
awoke on the morning of October 8th I heard the crunch-
ing of heavy steps in the snow outside, and then began a
rummaging about among our meat and blubber up on
the roof. I could hear it was a bear, and crept out with
my gun; but when I came out of the passage I could see
nothing in the moonlight. The animal had noticed me,
and had already disappeared. We did not altogether
regret this, as we had no great desire to set to at the
II.— 28
434 FARTHEST NORTH
cold task of skinning now, in a wind, and with 39° (70.2*'
Fahr.) of frost.
There was not much variety in our life. It consisted
in cooking and eating breakfast in the morning. Then,
perhaps, came another nap, after which we would go out
to get a little exercise. Of this, however, we took no
more than was necessary, as our clothes, saturated as
they were with fat, and worn and torn in many places,
were not exactly adapted for remaining in the open air
in winter. Our wind clothes, which we should have had
outside as a protection against the wind, were so worn
and torn that we could not use them; and we had so
little thread to patch them with that I did not think we
ought to use any of it until the spring, when we had to
prepare for our start. I had counted on being able to
make ourselves clothes of bearskins, but it took time to
cleanse them from all blubber and fat, and it was even a
slower business getting them dried. The only way to do
this was to spread them out under the roof of the hut;
but there was room for only one at a time. When at
last one was ready we had, first of all, to use it on our
bed, for we were lying on raw, greasy skins, which were
gradually rotting. When our bed had been put in order
with dried skins we had to think about making a sleep-
ing-bag, as, after a time, the blanket-bag that we had got
rather cold to sleep in. About Christmas-time, accord-
ingly, we at last managed to make ourselves a bearskin
bag. In this way all the skins we could prepare were
LAND AT LAST 435
used up, and we continued to wear the clothes we had
throughout the winter.
These walks, too, were a doubtful pleasure, because
there is always a wind there, and it blew hard under the
steep cliff. We felt it a wonderful relief when it occasion-
ally happened to be almost calm. As a rule, the wind
howled above us and lashed the snow along, so that
everything was wrapped in mist. Many days would some-
times pass almost without our putting our heads out of
the passage, and it was only bare necessity that drove
us out to fetch ice for drinking-water, or a leg or carcass
of a bear for food, or some blubber for fuel. As a rule,
we also brought in some sea-water ice, or, if there were
an opening or a crack to be found, a little sea-water for
our soup.
When we came in, and had mustered up appetite for
another meal, we had to prepare supper, eat till we were
satisfied, and then get into our bag and sleep as long as
possible to pass the time. On the whole, we had quite a
comfortable time in our hut. By means of our train-oil
lamps we could keep the temperature in the middle of
the room at about freezing-point. Near the wall, how-
ever, it was considerably colder, and there the damp
deposited itself in the shape of beautiful hoar-frost
crystals, so that the stones were quite white; and in
happy moments we could dream that we dwelt in marble
halls. This splendor, however, had its disadvantages,
for when the outside temperature rose, or when we heat-
436 FARTHEST NORTH
ed up the hut a little, rivulets ran down the wall into
our sleeping-bag. We took turns at being cook, and
Tuesday, when one ended his cooking -week and the
other began, afforded on that account the one variation
in our lives, and formed a boundary-mark by which we
divided out our time. We always reckoned up how
many cooking-weeks we had before we should break up
our camp in the spring. I had hoped to get so much
done this winter — work up my observations and notes,
and write some of the account of our journey; but very
little was done. It was not only the poor, flickering
light of the oil -lamp which hindered me, nor yet the
uncomfortable position— either lying on one's back, or
sitting up and fidgeting about on the hard stones, while
the part of the body thus exposed to pressure ached;
but altogether these surroundings did not predispose
one to work. The brain worked dully, and I never
felt inclined to write anything. Perhaps, too, this was
owing to the impossibility of keeping what you wrote
upon clean ; if you only took hold of a piece of paper
your fingers left a dark -brown, greasy mark, and if a
corner of your clothes brushed across it, a dark streak
appeared. Our journals of this period look dreadful.
They are " black books '' in the literal sense of the term.
Ah! how we longed for the time when we should
once more be able to write on clean white paper and
with black ink! I often had diflBculty in reading the
pencil notes I had written the day before, and now, in
AN ILLEGIBLE PAGE FROM DIARY
LAND AT LAST 439
writing this book, it is all I can do to find out what was
once written on these dirty, dark- brown pages. I ex-
pose them to all possible lights, I examine them with a
magnifying-glass ; but, notwithstanding, I often have to
give it up.
The entries in my journal for this time are exceed-
ingly meagre ; there are sometimes weeks when there is
nothing but the most necessary meteorological observa-
tions with remarks. The chief reason for this is that our
life was so monotonous that there was nothing to write
about. The same thoughts came and went day after
day; there was no more variety in them than in our
conversation. The very emptiness of the journal real-
ly gives the best representation of our life during the
nine months we lived there.
"Wednesday, November 27th. —23° C. (9.4° below
zero, Fahr.). It is windy weather, the snow whirling
about your ears, directly you put your head out of the
passage. Everything is gray; the black stones can be
made out in the snow a little way up the beach, and
above you can just divine the presence of the dark
cliff; but wherever else the gaze is turned, out to sea
or up the fjord, there is the same leaden darkness; one
is shut out from the wide world, shut into one's self. The
wind comes in sharp gusts, driving the snow before it ;
but up under the crest of the mountain it whistles and
roars in the crevices and holes of the basaltic walls —
the same never-ending song that it has sung through
440 FARTHEST NORTH
the thousands of years that are past, and will go on
singing through thousands of years to come. And the
snow whirls along in its age-old dance ; it spreads itself
in all the crevices and hollows, but it does not succeed
in covering up the stones on the beach ; black as ever,
they project into the night. On the open space in front
of the hut two figures are running up and down like
shadows in the winter darkness to keep themselves
warm, and so they will run up and down on the path
they have trampled out, day after day, till the spring
comes.
" Sunday, December ist. Wonderfully beautiful
weather for the last few days; one can never weary
of going up and down outside, while the moon trans-
forms the whole of this ice -world into a fairy -land.
The hut is still in shadow under the mountain which
hangs above it, dark and lowering ; but the moonlight
floats over ice and fjord, and is cast back glittering from
every snowy ridge and hill. A weird beauty, without
feeling, as though of a dead planet, built of shining
white marble. Just so must the mountains stand there,
frozen and icy cold; just so must the lakes lie con-
gealed beneath their snowy covering; and now as ever
the moon sails silently and slowly on her endless course
through the lifeless space. And everything so still, so
awfully still, with the silence that shall one day reign
when the earth again becomes desolate and empty,
when the fox will no more haunt these moraines, when
LAND AT LAST 44 1
the bear will no longer wander about on the ice out
there, when even the wind will not rage — infinite silence !
In the flaming aurora borealis the spirit of space hovers
over the frozen waters. The soul bows down before the
majesty of night and death.
" Monday, December 2d. Morning. To-day I can
hear it Wowing again outside, and we shall have an
unpleasant walk. It is bitterly cold now in our worn,
greasy clothes. It is not so bad when there is no wind ;
but even if there is only a little it goes right through
one. But what does it matter ? Will not the spring one
day come here too } Yes ; and over us arches the same
heaven now as always, high and calm as ever; and as
we walk up and down here shivering we gaze into the
boundless starry space, and all our privations and sorrows
shrink into nothingness. Starlit night, thou art sublime-
ly beautiful ! But dost thou not lend our spirit too migh-
ty wings, greater than we can control.'* Couldst thou
but solve the riddle of existence ! We feel ourselves the
centre of the universe, and struggle for life, for immor-
tality— one seeking it here, another hereafter — while thy
silent splendor proclaims : At the command of the Eter-
nal, you came into existence on a paltry planet, as dimin-
utive links in the endless chain of transformations; at
another command, you will be wiped out again. Who
then, through an eternity of eternities, will remember
that there once was an ephemeral being who could bind
sound and light in chains, and who was purblind enough
442 FARTHEST NORTH
to spend years of his brief existence in drifting through
frozen seas ? Is, then, the whole thing but the meteor
of a moment ? Will the whole history of the world evap-
orate like a dark, gold-edged cloud in the glow of even-
ing— achieving nothing, leaving no trace, passing like a
caprice ?
«
" Evening. That fox is playing us a great many
tricks; whatever he can move he goes off with. He has
once gnawed off the band with which the door-skin is
fastened, and every now and then we hear him at it
again, and have to go out and knock on the roof of the
passage. To-day he went off with one of our sails, in
which our salt-water ice was lying. We were not a little
alarmed when we went to fetch ice and found sail and
all gone. We had no doubt as to who had been there,
but we could not under any circumstances afford to lose
our precious sail, on which we depended for our voyage
to Spitzbergen in the spring, and we tramped about in
the dark, up the beach, over the level, and down towards
the sea. We looked everywhere, but nothing was to be
seen of it. At last we had almost given it up when
Johansen, in going on to the ice to get more salt-water
ice, found it at the edge of the shore. Our joy was great ;
but it was wonderful that the fox had been able to drag
that great sail, full of ice too, so far. Down there, how-
ever, it had come unfolded, and then he could do nothing
with it. But what does he want with things like this?
Is it to lie upon in his winter den ? One would almost
LAND AT LAST 443
think so. I only wish I could come upon that den, and
find the thermometer again, and the ball of twine, and the
harpoon-line, and all the other precious things he has
taken, the brute !
" Thursday, December 5th. It seems as if it would
never end. But patience a little longer, and spring will
come, the fairest spring that earth can give us. There
is furious weather outside, and snow, and it is pleasant
to lie here in our warm hut, eating steak, and listening
to the wind raging over us.
** Tuesday, December loth. It has been a bad wind.
Johansen discovered to - day that his kayak had disap-
peared. After some search he found it again several
hundred feet off, up the beach; it was a good deal
knocked about, too. The wind must first have lifted it
right over my kayak, and then over one big stone after
another. It begins to be too much of a good thing when
even the kayaks take to flying about in the air. The
atmosphere is dark out over the sea, so the wind has
probably broken up the ice, and driven it out, and there
is open water once more.*
" Last night it all at once grew wonderfully calm, and
the air was surprisingly mild. It was delightful to be
out, and it is long since we have had such a long walk
on our beat. It does one good to stretch one s legs now
* It often blew very fresh there under the mountain. Another time,
one of my snow-shoes, which was stuck into the snowdrift beside the hut,
was broken short off by the wind. It was a strong piece of maple.
444 FARTHEST NORTH
and then, otherwise I suppose we should become quite
stiff here in our winter lair. Fancy, only 12° (21^° Fahr.)
of frost in the middle of December ! We might almost
imagine ourselves at home — forget that we were in a
land of snow to the north of the eighty-first parallel.
"Thursday, December 12th. Between six and nine
this morning there were a number of shooting-stars, most
of them in Serpentarius. Some came right from the
Great Bear ; afterwards they chiefly came from the Bull,
or Aldebaran, or the Pleiades. Several of them were very
bright, and some drew a streak of shining dust after
them. Lovely weather. But night and day are now
equally dark. We walk up and down, up and down, on
the level, in the darkness. Heaven only knows how
many steps we shall take on that level before the winter
ends. Through the gloom we could see faintly only the
black cliffs, and the rocky ridges, and the great stones on
the beach, which the wind always sweeps clean. Above
us the sky, clear and brilliant with stars, sheds its peace
over the earth ; far in the west falls shower after shower
of stars, some faint, scarcely visible, others bright like
Roman candles, all with a message from distant worlds.
Low in the south lies a bank of clouds, now and again
outlined by the gleam of the northern lights; but out
over the sea the sky is dark •, there is open water there.
It is quite pleasant to look at it ; one does not feel so
shut in ; it is like a connecting link with life, that dark
sea, the mighty artery of the world, which carries tidings
LAND AT LAST 445
from land to land, from people to people, on which civili-
zation is borne victorious through the earth ; next sum-
mer it will carry us home.
" Thursday, December 19th. —28.5° (19.3° below zero,
Fahr.). It has turned cold again, and is bitter weather
to be out in. But what does it signify ? We are com-
fortable and warm in here, and do not need to go out
more than we like. All the out-of-door work we have is
to bring in fresh and salt water ice two or thre^ times a
week, meat and blubber now and again, and very occa-
sionally a skin to dry under the roof. And Christmas,
the season of rejoicing, is drawing near. At home, every
one is busy now, scarcely knowing how to get time for
everything ; but here there is no bustle ; all we want is
to make the time pass. Ah, to sleep, sleep ! The pot
is simmering pleasantly over the hearth ; I am sitting
waiting for breakfast, and gazing into the flickering
flames, while my thoughts travel far away. What is
the strange power in fire and light that all created be-
ings seek them, from the primary lump of protoplasm
in the sea to the roving child of man, who stops in his
wanderings, makes up a fire in the wood, and sits down
to dismiss all care and revel in the crackling warmth.
Involuntarily do these snake -like, fiery tongues arrest
the eye ; you gaze down into them as if you could read
your fate there, and memories glide past in motley train.
What, then, is privation ? What the present t Forget it,
forget yourself ; you have the power to recall all that is
446 FARTHEST NORTH
beautiful, and then wait for the summer. ... By the light
of the lamp she sits sewing in the winter evening. Be-
side her stands a little maiden with blue eyes and gold-
en hair, playing with a doll. She looks tenderly at the
child and strokes her hair ; but her eyes fill, and the big
tears fall upon her work.
" Johansen is lying beside me asleep ; he smiles in his
sleep. Poor fellow ! he must be dreaming he is at home
at Christmas-time with those he loves. But sleep on —
sleep and dream, while the winter passes ; for then comes
spring — the spring of life !
" Sunday, December 2 2d. Walked about outside for
a long time yesterday evening, while Johansen was hav-
ing a thorough clearing in the hut in preparation for
Christmas. This consisted chiefly in scraping the ashes
out of the hearth, gathering up the refuse of bone and
meat, and throwing it away, and then breaking up the ice,
which has frozen together with all kinds of rubbish and
refuse into a thick layer upon the floor, making the hut
rather low in the roof.
** The northern lights were wonderful. However often
we see this weird play of light, we never tire of gazing
at it ; it seems to cast a spell over both sight and sense
till it is impossible to tear one's self away. It begins
to dawn with a pale, yellow, spectral light behind the
mountain in the east, like the reflection of a fire far
away. It broadens, and soon the whole of the eastern
sky is one glowing mass of fire. Now it fades again»
LAND AT LAST 447
and gathers in a brightly luminous belt of mist stretch-
ing towards the southwest, with only a few patches of
luminous haze visible here and there. After a while
scattered rays suddenly shoot up from the fiery mist,
almost reaching to the zenith ; then more ; they play
over the belt in a wild chase from east to west. They
seem to be always darting nearer from a long, long way
off. But suddenly a perfect veil of rays showers from
the zenith out over the northern sky; they are so fine
and bright, like the finest of glittering silver threads.
Is it the fire-giant Surt himself, striking his mighty
silver harp, so that the strings tremble and sparkle in
the glow of the flames of Muspellsheim ? Yes, it is harp
music, wildly storming in the darkness; it is the riotous
war-dance of Surt s sons. And again at times it is Kke
softly playing, gently rocking, silvery waves, on which
dreams travel into unknown worlds.
" The winter solstice has come, and the sun is at its
lowest ; but still at midday we can just see a faint glim-
mer of it over the ridges in the south. Now it is again
beginning to mount northward ; day by day it will grow
lighter and lighter, and the time will pass rapidly. Oh,
how well I can now understand our forefathers' old cus-
tom of holding an uproarious sacrificial banquet in the
middle of winter, when the power of the winter dark-
ness was broken. We would hold an uproarious feast
here if we had anything to feast with ; but we have
nothing. What need is there, either.'* We shall hold
448 FARTHEST NORTH
our silent festival in the spirit, and think of the
spring.
"In my walk I look at Jupiter over there above the
crest of the mountain — Jupiter, the planet of the home;
it seems to smile at us, and I recognize my good at-
tendant spirit. Am I superstitious? This life and this
scenery might well make one so; and, in fact, is not
every one superstitious, each in his own way? Have
not I a firm belief in my star, and that we shall meet
again ? It has scarcely forsaken me for a day. Death,
I believe, can never approach before one's mission is
accomplished — never comes without one feeling its prox-
imity; and yet a cold fate may one day cut the thread
without warning.
" Tuesday, December 24th. At 2 p.m. to-day —24° C.
(i 1.2'' below zero, Fahr.). And this is Christmas-eve —
cold and windy out-of-doors, and cold and draughty in-
doors. How desolate it is ! Never before have we had
such a Christmas-eve.
" At home the bells are now ringing Christmas in.
I can hear their sound as it swings through the air from
the church tower. How beautiful it is !
" Now the candles are being lighted on the Christ-
mas-trees, the children are let in and dance round in joy-
ous delight. I must have a Christmas party for children
when I get home. This is the time of rejoicing, and
there is feasting in every cottage at home. And we are
keeping the festival in our little way. Johansen has
LAND AT LAST 449
turned his shirt and put the outside shirt next him; I
have done the same, and then I have changed my draw-
ers, and put on the others that I had wrung out in warm
water. And I have washed myself, too, in a quarter of
a cup of warm water, with the discarded drawers as
sponge and towel. Now I feel quite another being; my
clothes do not stick to my body as much as they did.
Then for supper we had * fiskegratin,' made of powdered
fish and maize-meal, with train-oil to it instead of butter,
both fried and boiled (one as dry as the other), and for
dessert we had bread fried in train-oil. To-morrow
morning we are going to have chocolate and bread."*
" Wednesday, December 25th. We have got lovely
Christmas weather, hardly any wind, and such bright,
beautiful moonlight. It gives one quite a solemn feel-
ing. It is the peace of thousands of years. In the af-
ternoon the northern lights were exceptionally beautiful.
When I came out at 6 o'clock there was a bright, pale-
yellow bow in the southern sky. It remained for a long
time almost unchanged, and then began to grow much
brighter at the upper margin of the bow behind the
mountain crests in the east. It smouldered for some
time, and then all at once light darted out westward
along the bow; streamers shot up all along it towards
the zenith, and in an instant the whole of the southern
♦ Christmas - eve and New - year's - eve were the only occasions on
which we allowed ourselves to take any of the provisions which we were
keeping for our journey southward.
II.— 29
450 FARTHEST NORTH
sky from the arc to the zenith was aflame. It flickered
and blazed, it whirled round like a whirlwind (moving
with the sun), rays darted backward and forward, now
red and reddish-violet, now yellow, green, and dazzling
white ; now the rays were red at the bottom and yellow
and green farther up, and then again this order was in-
verted. Higher and higher it rose ; now it came on the
north side of the zenith too ; for a moment there was a
splendid corona, and then it all became one whirling
mass of fire up there ; it was like a whirlpool of fire in
red, yellow, and green, and the eye was dazzled with
looking at it. It then drew across to the northern sky,
where it remained a long time, but not in such brilliancy.
The arc from which it had sprung in the south was still
visible, but soon . disappeared. The movement of the
rays was chiefly from west to east, but sometimes the re-
verse. It afterwards flared up brightly several times in
the northern sky ; I counted as many as six parallel
bands at one time, but they did not attain to the bright-
ness of the former ones.
" And this is Christmas-day ! There are family din-
ners going on at home. I can see the dignified old
father standing smiling and happy in the doorway to
welcome children and grandchildren. Out-of-doors the
snow is falling softly and silently in big flakes ; the young
folk come rushing in fresh and rosy, stamp the snow
off their feet in the passage, shake their things and hang
them up, and then enter the drawing-room, where the
LAND AT LAST 453
fire is crackling comfortably and cozily in the stove, and
they can see the snowflakes falling outside and covering
the Christmas corn-sheaf. A delicious smell of roasting
comes from the kitchen, and in the dining-room the long
table is laid for a good, old-fashioned dinner with good
old wine. How nice and comfortable everything is!
One might fall ill with longing to be home. But wait,
wait ; when summer comes. . . .
" Oh, the road to the stars is both long and difficult !
"Tuesday, December 31st. And this year too is
vanishing. It has been strange, but, after all, it has
perhaps not been so bad.
" They are ringing out the old year now at home.
Our church-bell is the icy wind howling over glacier and
snow-field, howling fiercely as it whirls the drifting snow
on high in cloud after cloud, and sweeps it down upon us
from the crest of the mountain up yonder. Far in up
the fjord you can see the clouds of snow chasing one
another over the ice in front of the gusts of wind, and
the snow-dust glittering in the moonlight. And the full
moon sails silent and still out of one year into another.
She shines alike upon the good and the evil, nor does
she notice the wants and yearnings of the new year.
Solitary, forsaken, hundreds of miles from all that one
holds dear ; but the thoughts flit restlessly to and fro on
their silent paths. Once more a leaf is turned in the
book of eternity, a new blank page is opened, and no one
knows what will be written on it."
CHAPTER VIII
THE NEW YEAR, 1 896
" Wednesday, January i, 1896. —41.5° C. (42.2'' below
zero, Fahr.). So a new year has come, the year of joy
and home-coming. In bright moonlight 1895 departed,
and in bright moonlight 1896 begins; but it is bitterly
cold, the coldest days we have yet known here. I felt it,
too, yesterday, when all my finger-tips were frost-bitten.
I thought I had done with all that last spring.
" Friday, January 3d. Morning. It is still clear and
cold out-of-doors; I can hear reports from the glacier.
I-t lies up there on the crest of the mountain like a
mighty ice-giant peering down at us through the clefts.
It spreads its giant body all over the land, and stretches
out its limbs on all sides into the sea. But whenever it
turns cold — colder than it has hitherto been — it writhes
horribly, and crevice after crevice appears in the huge
body ; there is a noise like the discharge of guns, and the
sky and the earth tremble so that I can feel the ground
that I am lying on quake. One is almost afraid that it
will some day come rolling over upon one.*
* These rumblings in the glacier are due to rifts which are formed in
the mass of ice when the cold causes it to contract. New rifts seemed
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 455
" Johansen is asleep, and making the hut resound. I
am glad his mother cannot see him now. She would
certainly pity her boy, so black and grimy and ragged
as he is, with sooty streaks all over his face. But wait,
only wait! She shall have him again, safe and sound
and fresh and rosy.
" Wednesday, January 8th. Last night the wind blew
the sledge to which our thermometer was hanging out
over the slope. Stormy weather outside — furious weath-
er, almost taking away your breath if you put your
head out. We lie here trying to sleep — sleep the time
away. But we cannot always do it. Oh, those long
sleepless nights when you turn from side to side, kick
your feet to put a little warmth into them, and wish for
only one thing in the world — sleep ! The thoughts are
constantly busy with everything at home, but the long,
heavy body lies here trying in vain to find an endur-
able position among the rough stones. However, time
crawls on, and now little Liv's birthday has come.
She is three years old to-day, and must be a big
girl now. Poor little thing! You don't miss your fa-
ther now, and next birthday I shall be with you, I
hope. What good friends we shall be ! You shall ride
a- cockhorse, and I will tell you stories from the north
about bears, foxes, walruses, and all the strange ani-
to be formed only when the temperature sank lower than it had previ-
ously been in the course of that winter; at least, it was only then that we
heard the rumblings.
456
FARTHEST NORTH
mals up there in the ice. No, I can't bear to think
of it.
" Saturday, February ist. Here I am down with the
rheumatism. Outside it is growing gradually Hghter
day by day ; the sky above the glaciers in the south
grows redder, until at last one day the sun will rise
above the crest, and our last winter night be past.
' LIFE IN OUR HUT
Spring is coming! I have often thought spring sad.
Was it because it vanished so quickly, because it carried
promises that summer never fulfilled ? But there is no
sadness in this spring; its promises will be kept; it
would be too cruel if they were not."
It was a strange existence, lying thus in a hut under-
ground the whole winter through, without a thing to
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 457
turn one's hand to. How we longed for a book ! How
delightful our life on board the Fram appeared, when we
had the whole library to fall back upon ! We would
often tell each other how beautiful this sort of life would
have been, after all, if we had only had anything to read.
Johansen always spoke with a sigh of Heyse's novels ;
he had specially liked those on board, and he had not
been able to finish the last one he was reading. The
little readable matter which was to be found in our nav-
igation-table and almanac I had read so many times
already that I knew it almost by heart — all about the
Norwegian royal family, all about persons apparently
drowned, and all about self-help for fishermen. Yet it
was always a comfort to see these books; the sight of
the printed letters gave one a feeling that there was, after
all, a little bit of the civilized man left. All that we really
had to talk about had long ago been thoroughly thrashed
out, and, indeed, there were not many thoughts of com-
mon interest that we had not exchanged. The chief
pleasure left to us was to picture to each other how we
should make up next winter at home for everything we
had missed during our sojourn here. We felt that we
should have learned for good and all to set store by all
the good things of life, such as food, drink, clothes,
shoes, house, home, good neighbors, and all the rest of it.
Frequently we occupied ourselves, too, in calculating how
far the Fram could have drifted, and whether there was
any possibility of her getting home to Norway before us.
458 FARTHEST NORTH
It seemed a safe assumption that she might drift out into
the sea between Spitzbergen and Greenland next sum-
mer or autumn, and probability seemed to point to her
being in Norway in August or September. But there
was just the possibility that she might arrive earlier in
the summer ; or, on the other hand, we might not reach
home until later in the autumn. This was the great
question to which we could give no certain answer, and
we reflected with sorrow that she might perhaps get
home first. What would our friends then think about
us 'i Scarcely any one would have the least hope of see-
ing us again, not even our comrades on board the Fram.
It seemed to us, however, that this could scarcely happen ;
we could not but reach home in July, and it was hardly
to be expected that the Fram could be free from the ice
so early in the summer.
But where were we } And how great was the
distance we had to travel? Over and over again I
reckoned out our observations of the autumn and
summer and spring, but the whole matter was a per-
petual puzzle. It seemed clear, indeed, that we must be
lying somewhere far to the west, perhaps off the west
coast of Franz Josef Land, a little north of Cape
Lofley, as I had conjectured in the autumn. But, if
that were so, what could the lands be which we had seen
to the northward? And what was the land to which we
had first come ? From the first group of islands, which
I had called White Land (Hvidtenland), to where we now
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 459
lie, we had passed about f of longitude — that our obser-
vations proved conclusively. But if we were now in the
longitude of Cape Fligely these islands must lie on a
meridian so far east that it would fall between King
Oscar's Land and Crown Prince Rudolf Land ; and yet
we had been much farther east and had seen nothing
of these lands. How was this to be explained } And,
furthermore, the land we saw had disappeared to the
southward ; and we saw no indication of islands farther
east. No, we could not have been near any known land ;
we must be upon some island lying farther west, in the
strait between Franz Josef Land and Spitzbergen ; and
we could not but think of the hitherto so enigmatic
Gillies Land. But this, too, seemed difficult to explain ;
for it was hard to understand how, in this comparatively
narrow strait, such an extensive mass of land as this
could find room without coming so near the Northeast
Land of Spitzbergen that it could easily be seen from it.
No other conclusion, however seemed at all plausible.
We had long ago given up the idea that our watches
could be even approximately right ; for in that case, as
already mentioned, we must have come right across Payer s
Wilczek Land and Dove Glacier without having noticed
them. This theory was consequently excluded. There
were other things, too, that greatly puzzled me. If we
were on a new land, near Spitzbergen, why were the
rosy gulls never seen there, while we had found them in
flocks here to the north } And then there was the great
46o FARTHEST NORTH
variation of the compass. Unfortunately, I had no chart
of the variations with me, and I could not remember
where the zero meridian of variation lay — the boundary-
line between easterly and westerly variation. I thought,
however, that it lay somewhere near the Northeast
Land ; and here we had still a variation of about 20°.
The whole thing was, and remained, an insoluble riddle.
As the daylight began to lengthen later in the spring,
I made a discovery which had the effect of still "more
hopelessly bewildering us. At two points on the horizon,
about W.S.W., I fancied that I could see land looming
in the air. The appearance recurred again and again,
and at last I was quite certain that it really was land ; but
it must be very far away — at least 69 miles, I thought.*
If it had been difficult to find room between Franz
Josef Land and Northeast Land for the islands we
had hitherto seen, it was more difficult still to find room
for these new ones. Could it be the Northeast Land
itself } This seemed scarcely credible. This land must
lie in about 81° or so northward, while the Northeast
Land does not reach much north of 80°. But at least
these islands must be pretty near Northeast Land, and
if we once reached them, we could not have much
farther to go, and would perhaps find open water all the
way to the Tromso sloop, on which our fancy had now
dwelt for over a year, and which was to take us home.
*" It proved afterwards that the distance was about 56 miles.
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 461
The thought of all the good things we should find on
board that sloop was what comforted us whenever the
time hung unendurably heavy on our hands. Our life
was not, indeed, altogether luxurious. How we longed
for a change in the uniformity of our diet ! If only we
could have had a little sugar and farinaceous food, in
addition to all the excellent meat we had, we could have
lived like princes. Our thoughts dwelt longingly on
great platters full of cakes, not to mention bread and
potatoes. How we would make up for lost time when
we got back ! And we would begin as soon as we got
on board that Tromso sloop. Would they have pota-
toes on board ? Would they have fresh bread } At
worst, even hard ships bread would not be so bad,
especially if we could get it fried in sugar and butter.
But better even than food would be the clean clothes
we could put on. And then books — only to think of
books! Ugh, the clothes we lived in were horrible!
and when we wanted to enjoy a really delightful hour
we would set to work imagining a great, bright, clean
shop, where the walls were hung with nothing but new,
clean, soft woollen clothes, from which we could pick
out everything we wanted. Only to think of shirts,
vests, drawers, soft and warm woollen trousers, delicious-
ly comfortable jerseys, and then clean woollen stockings
and warm felt slippers — could anything more delightful
be imagined ? And then a Turkish bath ! We would
sit up side by side in our sleeping-bag for hours at a
462 FARTHEST NORTH
time and talk of all these things. They seemed almost
unimaginable. Fancy being able to throw away all the
heavy, oily rags we had to live in, glued as they were to
our bodies ! Our legs suffered most ; for there our
trousers stuck fast to our knees, so that when we moved
they abraded and tore the skin inside our thighs till it
was all raw and bleeding. I had the greatest difficulty
in keeping these sores from becoming altogether too
ingrained with fat and dirt, and had to be perpetually
washing them with moss, or a rag from one of the
bandages in our medicine-bag, and a little water, which
I warmed in a cup over the lamp. I have never
before understood what a magnificent invention soap
really is. We made all sorts of attempts to wash the
worst of the dirt away; but they were all equally un-
successful. Water had no effect upon all this grease;
it was better to scour one's self with moss and sand. We
could find plenty of sand in the walls of the hut, when
we hacked the ice off them. The best method, how-
ever, was to get our hands thoroughly lubricated with
warm bear's blood and train-oil, and then scrub it off
again with moss. They thus became as white and soft
as the hands of the most delicate lady, and we could
scarcely believe that they belonged to our own bodies.
When there was none of this toilet preparation to be
had, we found the next best plan was to scrape our skin
with a knife.
If it was difficult to get our own bodies clean, it was
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 4^3
a sheer impossibility as regards our clothes. We tried
all possible ways; we washed them both in Eskimo
fashion and in our own ; but neither was of much avail.
We boiled our shirts in the pot hour after hour, but took
them out only to find them just as full of grease as
when we put them in. Then we took to wringing the
train-oil out of them. This was a little better ; but the
only thing that produced any real effect was to boil them,
and then scrape them with a knife while they were still
warm. By holding them in our teeth and our left hand
and stretching them out, while we scraped them all
over with the right hand, we managed to get amazing
quantities of fat out of them ; and we could almost have
believed that they were quite clean when we put them
on again after they were dry. The fat which we scraped
off was, of course, a welcome addition to our fuel.
In the meanwhile our hair and beard grew entirely
wild. It is true we had scissors and could have cut them ;
but as our supply of clothes was by no means too lavish,
we thought it kept us a little warmer to have all this hair,
which began to flow down over our shoulders. But it
was coal-black like our faces, and we thought our teeth
and the whites of our eyes shone with an uncanny white-
ness, now that we could see each other again in the day-
light of the spring. On the whole, however, we were
so accustomed to each other's appearance that we really
found nothing remarkable about it ; and not until we fell
in with other people and found that they were precisely
464 FARTHEST NORTH
of that opinion did we begin to recognize that our outer
man was, perhaps, open to criticism.
It was a strange life, and in many ways it put our pa-
tience to a severe test; but it was not so unendurable
as one might suppose. We at any rate thought that, all
things considered, we were fairly well off. Our spirits
were good the whole time; we looked serenely towards
the future, and rejoiced in the thought of all the delights
it had in store for us. We did not even have recourse to
quarrelling to while away the time. After our return,
Johansen was once asked how we two had got on during
the winter, and whether we had managed not to fall out
with each other ; for it is said to be a severe test for two
men to live so long together in perfect isolation. " Oh
no," he answered, "we didn't quarrel; the only thing was
that I had the bad habit of snoring in my sleep, and
then Nansen used to kick me in the back." I cannot
deny that this is the case; I gave him many a well-
meant kick, but fortunately he only shook himself a
little and slept calmly on.
Thus did our time pass. We did our best to sleep
away as much as possible of it. We carried this art to a
high pitch of perfection, and could sometimes put in as
much as 20 hours' sleep in the 24.- If any one still holds
to the old superstition that scurvy is due to lack of ex-
ercise, he may look upon us as living evidences to the
contrary ; for all the time our health was excellent. As
the light now began to return with the spring, however.
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 465
we were more inclined to go out. Besides, it was not
always so cold now, and we had to restrict our sleep a
little. Then, too, the time for our departure was ap-
proaching, and we had plenty to occupy us in the way
of preparation and so forth.
" Tuesday, February 25th. Lovely weather to be out
in to-day ; it is as though spring were beginning. We
have seen the first birds — first a flock of half a score of
little auks {Mergulus alle\ then a flock of four; they
came from the south along the land, evidently through
the sound in the southeast, and disappeared behind the
mountain crest to the northwest of us. Once more we
heard their cheerful twittering, and it roused a respon-
sive echo in the soul. A little later we heard it again,
and then it seemed as if they were perched on the
mountain above us. It was the first greeting from life.
Blessed birds, how welcome you are !
" It was quite like a spring evening at home; the sun's
red glow faded little by little into golden clouds, and the
moon rose. I went up and down outside, and dreamt I
was in Norway on a spring evening.
" Wednesday, February 26th. To-day we ought to
have had the sun again, but the sky was cloudy.
" Friday, February 28th. I have discovered that it is
possible to get 1 2 threads out of a bit of twine, and am as
happy as a king. We have thread enough now, and our
wind clothes shall be whole once more. It is possible, too,.
to ravel out the canvas in the bags, and use it for thread.
II.— 30
466 FARTHEST NORTH
" Saturday, February 29th. The sun high above the
glacier to-day. We must begin to economize in train-oil
in earnest now if we are to get away from here, or there
will be too little blubber for the journey.
" Wednesday, March 4th. When Johansen went out
this morning the mountain above us was covered with
little auks, which flew twittering from crest to crest, and
sat all over the glacier. When we went out again later
on they were gone.
" Friday, March 6th. We are faring badly now. We
have to sleep in the dark to save oil, and can only cook
once a day.
"Sunday, March 8th. Shot a bear. Johansen saw
ten flocks of little auks flying up the sound this
morning.
" Tuesday, March loth. That bear the day before
yesterday came in the nick of time, and an amusing
fellow he was, too. We were very badly off both for
blubber and meat, but most for blubber, and we were
longing for a bear; we thought it must be about time
for them to come again now. I had just spent Sunday
morning in mending my wind trousers and patching my
*komager,' so as to be all ready if a bear should come.
Johansen, whose cooking week it was, had been sewing
a little too, and was just cleaning up the hut for Sunday
and taking out some bone and meat — he had taken it as
far as the passage. But no sooner had he raised the
skin over the opening out there than I heard him come
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 4^7
tumbling head foremost in again over the bone heap and
say, * There's a bear standing just outside the door/ He
snatched his gun down from where it hung under the
roof and again put his head into the passage, but drew
it quickly back, saying, * He is standing close by, and
must be thinking about coming in.' He managed to
draw aside a corner of the door-skin, just enough to give
him elbow-room to shoot ; but it was not altogether easy.
The passage was narrow enough before, and now, in
addition, it was full of all the backbones and scraps of
meat. I saw him once lift the gun to his shoulder
as he lay crouched together, but take it down again;
he had forgotten to cock it, and the bear had moved
a little away^ so that he only saw its muzzle and paws.
But now it began scraping down in the passage with
one paw, as if it wanted to come in, and Johansen
thought he must fire, even if he could not see. He put
out his gun, pointing the barrel at the upper edge of the
opening; he thought the shot must go right into the
bears breast, and so he fired. I heard a dull growl
and the crunching of the snow under heavy footsteps,
which went up towards the talus. Johansen loaded
again, and put his head out at the opening. He said
he saw it going up there, and that it didn't seem up to
much, and forthwith he rushed after it. I, meanwhile,
was lying head foremost in the bag, hunting for a sock
which I cotdd not find. At last, after a long search, I
found it — on the floor, of course. Then I, too, was ready;
4*58 FARTHEST NORTH
and well equipped with gun, cartridges, knife, and file
(to sharpen the seal-knife), I followed. I had my wind
trousers on, too; they had been hanging unused all
through the winter's cold, for want of thread to mend
them with, but now, when the temperature was only — 2''C.
{284° Fahr.), they of course had to come out. I followed
the tracks; they went westward and northward along
1
^^j^^H
B^
'IHp^ /^H^^^H
^^^^HT 'AI^I
Wl
"JOHANSEN FIRED THROUGH THE OPENING
the shore. After a little while I at last met Johansen,
who said that the bear lay farther on ; he had at last got
up to it, and finished it with a shot in the back. While
he returned to fetch the sledges I went on to begin
skinning. It was not to be done quite so quickly, how-
THE NEW YEAR, i8g6 469
ever. As I approached the place where I thought it must
be lying, I caught sight of the 'dead bear' far ahead,
trotting pretty briskly along the shore. Now and then
it stopped to look round at me. I ran out on to the ice,
to get outside it, if possible, and drive it back, so that
we should not have so far to drag it. When I had kept
on at this for some time, and was about on a level with
it, it began clambering up the glacier and under some
ragged rock. I had not reckoned on a *dead bear'
being able to do this, and the only thing was to stop it
as soon as possible ; but just as I got within range it
disappeared over the crest. Soon I saw it again, a good
deal higher up, and far out of range. It was craning its
neck to see if I were following. I went up some way
after it, but as it went on along the mountain more
quickly than I could follow it in the deep snow, under
which, moreover, there were crevices into which I kept
falling up to my waist, I preferred to clamber down on
to the fjord-ice again. In a little while the bear emerged
from beneath a perpendicular cliff with a precipitous
bit of talus beneath it. Here it began to crawl care-
fully along at the very top of the talus. I was now
afraid of its lying down in a place like this, where we
could not get at it, and even though the range was long
I felt I must fire and see if I could not make it fall over.
It did not look as if it had too firm a footing up there.
It was blowing like anything here under the cliff, and I
saw that the bear had to lie flat down and hold on with
470 FARTHEST NORTH
its claws when the worst gusts came, and then, too, it
had only three paws to hold on with; the right fore-leg
had been broken. I went up to a big stone at the lower
edge of the talus, took good aim, and fired. I saw the
bullet strike the snow just beneath it, but, whether it was
hit or not, it started up and tried to jump over a drift,
but slipped, and rolled over. It tried several times to
stop itself, but went on, until at last it found its feet and
began to crawl slowly up again. Meanwhile I had loaded
again, and the range was now shorter. I fired once more.
It stood still a moment, then slipped farther and farther
down the drift, at first slowly, then quicker and quicker
rolling over and over. I thought it was coming straight
towards me, but comforted myself with the thought that
the stone I was standing behind was a good solid one.
I squatted down and quickly put a fresh cartridge into
my gun. The bear had now arrived at the talus below
the drift ; it came tearing down, together with stones and
lumps of snow, in a series of leaps, each longer than
the last. It was a strange sight, this great white body
flying through the air, and turning somersault after som-
ersault, as if it had been a piece of wood. At last it took
one tremendous leap, and landed against an enormous
stone. There was a regular crash, and there it lay close
beside me ; a few spasms passed through it, and all was
over. It was an uncommonly large he -bear, with a
beautiful thick fur, which one might well wish to have
at home ; but the best thing of all was that it was very
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 471
fat. It was so windy that the gusts were apt to blow
you over if you were not prepared for them ; but with
the air so mild as it was, wind did not matter much ; it
would not have been such bad work to skin it had it not
been that it was lying in a hollow and was so big that
one man could not stir it. After a time, however, Johan-
sen came, and at last we had got it dismembered, and had
dragged it down to the ice and piled it on the sledge.
We had not gone far, however, before we found that it
would be too heavy for us to draw all at once against
this wind and for such a distance. We laid half of it in
a heap on the ice and spread the skin over it, intending
to fetch it in a day or two ; and even then we had diffi-
culty enough in fighting on against the wind in the dark,
so that it was late at night before we got home. But it
was long since we had so much enjoyed our home-coming
and being able to lie down in our bag and sup off fresh
meat and hot soup."
We lived on that bear for six weeks.
" When Johansen was out this morning at six, he
thought he saw little auks in millions flying up the
sound. When we went out at two in the afternoon
there was an unceasing passage of flock after flock out to
sea, and this continued until late in the afternoon. I saw
two guillemots {Uria grylle), too, fly over our heads.
They are the first we have seen.*
* We had now, as the spring advanced, a good opportunity of seeing
how the little auk in great flocks and the black guillemots in smaller num-
4/2 FARTHEST XORTH
•* Wednesday, March 25th. There is the same dark
water>>ky behind the promontorj- in the southwest, stretch-
ing thence westward almost to the extreme west. It has
^x:en there all through this mild weather, ^-ith southwest-
erly wind, from the verj- beginning of the month. There
seems to be always open ^-ater there, for no sooner is
the sky overcast than the reflection of water appears in
that quarter.
" Thursday, April 2d. As I awoke at about eight this
evening (our morning happened to fall in the evening
to-day), we heard an animal rustling about outside
and gnawing at something. We did not take much
notice of it, thinking it was a fox, busy as usual with
some meat up on the roof; and if it did seem to be
making rather more noise than we had of late been ac-
customed to hear from foxes, yet it was scarcely noise
enough to come from a bear. We did not take into
consideration that the snow was not so cold and crack-
ling now as it had been earlier in the winter. When
Johansen went out to read the thermometer, he saw
that it was a bear that had been there. It had gone
round the hut, but had evidently not liked all the bears'
carcasses, and had not ventured past them up to the wal-
rus blubber on the roof. At the opening of the passage
and the chimney it had sniffed hard, doubtless enjoying
bers, invariably set forth from land at certain times of the day towards the
open sea, and then at other times returned in unbroken lines up the ice-
bound fjords to their nest-rocks again.
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THE NEW YEAR, 1896 473
the delicious scent of burnt blubber and live human
flesh. Then it had dragged a walrus hide that was
lying outside a little way of¥ and scraped the blubber
off it. It had come from the ice obliquely up the hill
following the scent, had then followed our footsteps
from the hut to the place where we get salt-water, and
had thence gone farther out over the ice until it had got
scent of the walrus carcasses out there, and was going
towards them when Johansen caught sight of it. There
it set to work to gnaw. As my gun was not fit to
use at the moment, I took Johansen s and went alone.
The bear was so busy gnawing and tearing pieces off
the carcass that I could get close up to it from behind
without troubling about cover. Wishing to try how
near I could get, I went on, and it was not until I
was so near that I could almost touch it with the muz-
zle of my gun that it heard my steps, so busy had it
been. It started round, gazed defiantly and astonished
at me, and I saluted it with a charge right in its face.
It threw up its head, sneezed, and blew blood out over
the snow as it turned round again and galloped away.
I was going to load again, but the cartridge jammed,
and it was only by using my knife that I got it out.
While I was doing this the bear had bethought him-
self, stopped, turned towards me, and snorted angrily,
as he made up his mind to set upon me. He then
went up on to a piece of ice close by, placed himself in
an attitude of defence, and stretched out his neck tow-
474 FARTHEST NORTH
ards me, while the blood poured from his mouth and
nostrils. The ball had gone right through his head,
but without touching the brain. At last I had put
another cartridge in, but had to give him five shots
before I finally killed him. At each shot he fell, but
got up again. I was not accustomed to the sights on
Johansen's gun, and shot rather too high with it. At
last I grew angry, rushed up to him, and finished him
off."
We were beginning to be well supplied with blubber
and meat for the journey south, and were now busy
fitting ourselves out. And there was a great deal to
be done. We had to begin to make ourselves new
clothes out of our blankets; our wind clothes had to
be patched and mended; our "komager" had to be
soled, and we had to make socks and gloves out of
bearskin. Then we had to make a light, good sleeping-
bag of bearskin. All this would take time; and from
this time we worked industriously at our needle from
early morning till late at night. Our hut was suddenly
transformed into a busy tailors and shoemaker's work-
room, where we sat side by side in the sleeping-bag
upon the stone bed, and sewed and sewed and thought
about the home-coming. We got thread by unravel-
ling the cotton canvas of some provision bags. It need
hardly be said that we were always talking about the
prospects for our journey, and we found great comfort in
the persistence of the dark sky in the southwest, which
THE NEW YEAR, i8g6 47 S
indicated much open water in that direction. I conse-
quently thought we should have good use for our kayaks
on the journey to Spitzbergen. I mention this open
water several times in my journal. For instance, on
April 1 2th: "Open water from the promontory in the
southwest, northward as far as we can see." By this I
mean, of course, that there was dark air over the whole
horizon in this direction, showing clearly that there
was open water there. This could not really surprise
us ; indeed, we ought to have been prepared for it, since
Payer had found open water in the middle of April at
a more northerly point on the west coast of Crown
Prince Rudolf Land ; and this had been continually in
my thoughts all through the winter.
Another thing which made us believe in the close
vicinity of the sea was that we were daily visited by
ivory-gulls and fulmars [Procellaria glacialis), sometimes
skuas also. We saw the first ivory -gulls on March
1 2th; throughout April they became more and more
numerous, and soon we had plenty, both of them and
of the burgomasters {Larus glaucus), sitting on our roof
and round the hut, and drumming and pecking at the
bones and remains of bears they found there. During
the winter the continual gnawing of the foxes at the
meat up there had entertained us, and reminded us that
we were not quite forsaken by living things ; when half
asleep we could often imagine that we were in our beds
at home and heard the rats and mice holding their rev-
476
FARTHEST NORTH
M
els in the attic above us. With the coming of daylig
the foxes vanished. They now found plenty of lit
auks up in the clefts of the mountains, and had no long
to depend on our stone-hard frozen bear-meat. But nc
we had the drumming of the gulls instead ; but they d
not call up the same illusions, and, when we had the
on the roof just over our heads, were often very tireson
and even disturbed our sleep, so that we had to kno^
on the roof or go out and frighten them away, whic
however, had the desired effect only for a few minutes.
On the 1 8th of April, while I was at work on sor
solar-time observations, I happened to look up, and w
surprised to see a bear standing just opposite to r
down on the ice by the shore. It must have been star
ing there a long time, wondering what I was about,
ran to the hut for a gun, but when I returned it took
its heels, and I was not eager to follow it.
"Sunday, April 19th. I was awakened at 7 oclo<
this morning by the heavy steps of a bear outside,
wakened Johansen, who struck a light, and •! got on n
trousers and 'komager' and crept out with loaded gu
During the night a great deal of snow had, as usu;
drifted over the skin that covered the opening, and w
difficult to break through. At last, by kicking with ;
my might from below, I managed to knock the snow o
and put my head out into the daylight, which was qui
dazzling after the darkness down in the hut. I Sc
nothing, but knew that the bear must be standing ju
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 477
behind the hut. Then I heard a snorting and blowing,
and off went the brute in a clumsy bear's gallop up the
slope. I did not know whether to shoot or not, and, to
tell the truth, I had little inclination for bear-skinning
in this bitter weather; but half at random I sent a shot
after it, which of course missed, and I was not sorry. I
did not shoot again ; the one shot was enough to frighten
it, and keep it from coming again for the present; we
did not want it, if only it would leave our things in peace.
At the cleft to the north it looked back, and then went
on. As usual it had come against the wind, and must
have scented us far west upon the ice. It had made
several tacks to leeward to us, had been at the entrance
of the hut, where it had left a visiting-card, and had then
gone straight to a mound at the back of us, where there
is some walrus blubber, surrounded on all sides by bears'
carcasses. These had no terrors for it. The bearskin
which covered it, it had dragged a long way, but fort-
unately it had not succeeded in getting anything eaten
before I came.
" Sunday, May 3d. When Johansen came in this
morning he said he had seen a bear out on the ice ; it
was coming in. He went out a little later to look for it,
but did not see it ; it had probably gone into the bay to
the north. We expected a visit from it, however, as the
wind was that way ; and as we sat later in the day, sew-
ing as hard as we could sew, we heard heavy footsteps
on the snow outside. They stopped, went backward and
478 FARTHEST NORTH '
forward a little, and then something was drawn along,
and all was quiet. Johansen crept cautiously out with
his gun. When he put his head out of the hole, and his
eyes had recovered from the first dazzling effects of the
daylight, he saw the bear standing gnawing at a bear-
skin. A bullet through the head killed it on the spot.
It was a lean little animal, but worth taking, inasmuch
as it saved us the trouble of thawing up carcasses in order
to cut provisions for our journey off them. Frozen stiff
as they now are, we cannot cut them up outside in the
cold, but have to bring them into the hut and soften
them in the warmth before we can cut anything off them,
and this takes time. Two bears were here on a visit last
night, but they turned back again at the sledge, which is
stuck up on end in the moraine to the west of us, to
serve as a stand for our thermometer."
As we were breakfasting on May 9th we again heard
a bear s footstep outside, and being afraid that it was
going to eat up our blubber, we had no other resource
than to shoot it. We now had far more meat than we
required, and did not care to use more cartridges on
these animals for the present ; but what grieved us most
was the thought of all the beautiful bearskins which we
should leave behind us. The time was now drawing:
near when we should break up our camp, and we worked
eagerly at our preparations. Our clothes were now
ready. The entry for Tuesday, May 12th, runs thus:
" Took leave to-day of my old trousers. I was quite sad
THE NE W YEAR, i8g6 479
at the thought of the good service they had done; but
they are now so heavy with oil and dirt that they must
be several times their original weight, and, if they were
squeezed, oil would ooze out of them." It was undenia-
bly pleasant to put on the new, light, soft trousers of
blanket, which were, to some extent, free from grease.
As, however, this material was loose in texture, I was
afraid it might wear out before we reached Spitzbergen,
and we had therefore strengthened it both inside and
outside with pieces of an old pair of drawers and of a
shirt to protect it from wear.
While I was taking some observations outside the hut
on Saturday, May i6th, I saw a bear with quite a small
young one out on the ice. I had just taken a turn out
there, and they were examining my tracks. The mother
went first, going up on to all the hummocks I had been
upon, turning round and sniffing and looking at the
tracks, and then descending again and going on. The
tiny young one trotted along behind, exactly repeating
the movements of its mother. At last they grew tired
of this, and turned their steps towards the shore, dis-
appearing behind the promontory to the north of us.
Shortly after Johansen came out, and I told him about
it, and said : " I expect we shall soon see them in the
cleft up there, as the wind is that way." I had scarcely
said it, when, looking across, we saw them both stand-
ing, stretching their necks, sniffing, and looking at us
and the hut. We did not want to shoot them, as we
48o FARTHEST NORTH
had abundance of food; but we thought it would be
amusing to go nearer and watch them, and then, if
possible, frighten them sufficiently to keep them from
visiting us in the night, so that we could sleep in peace.
When we approached, the mother snorted angrily, turned
several times as if to go, pushing the young one on first,
but turned back again to observe us more closely. At
last they jogged slowly off, continually hesitating and
looking back. When they got down to the shore, they
again went quite slowly among the hummocks, and I ran
after them. The mother went first, the young one trotting
after exactly in her footsteps. I was soon close to them,
the mother saw me, started, and tried to get the young
one to go with her ; but I now discovered that it could
run no faster than I could follow it. As soon as the
mother saw this, she turned round, snorted, and came
storming right at me. I halted, and prepared to shoot
in case she should come too near, and in the meantime
the little one tramped on as fast as it could. The moth-
er halted at the distance of a few paces from me, snorted
and hissed again, looked round at the young one, and
when the latter had got a good way on trotted after it.
I ran on again and overtook the young one, and again
the mother went through the same manoeuvres; she
seemed to have the greatest possible desire to strike me
to the earth, but then the young one had again got
ahead a little, and she did not wait to do it, but trotted
after. This was repeated several times, and then they
THE NEW YEAR, 1896 481
began to clamber up the glacier, the mother in front, the
young one after. But the latter did not get on very
fast ; it trudged along as well as it could in its mother s
footprints in the deep snow. It reminded me exactly of
a child in trousers, as it clambered up and kept looking
round, half frightened, half curious. It was touching to
see how incessantly the mother turned round to hasten
it on, now and then jogging it with her head, hissing
and snorting all the while at me standing quietly below
and looking on. When they reached the crest the moth-
er stopped and hissed worse than ever, and when she
had let the young one pass her, they both disappeared
over the glacier, and I went back to continue my work.
For the last few weeks a feverish activity had reigned
in our hut. We had become more and more impatient
to make a start; but there was still a great deal to be
done. We realized in bitter earnest that we had no
longer the Fratns stores to fall back upon. On board
the Fram there might be one or two things lacking; but
here we lacked practically everything. What would we
not have given even for a single box of dog-biscuits — for
ourselves — out of the Franis abundance ? Where were
we to find all that we needed } " For a sledge expedi-
tion one must lay in light and nourishing provisions,
which at the same time afford as much variety as possi-
ble ; one must have light and warm clothing, strong and
practical sledges," etc., etc. — we knew by heart all these
maxims of the Arctic text-book. The journey that lay
II.— 31
482 FARTHEST NORTH
before us, indeed, was not a very great one ; the thing
was simply to reach Spitzbergen and get on board the
sloop ; but it was long enough, after all, to make it neces-
sary for us to take certain measures of precaution.
When we dug up the stores which we had buried at
the beginning of the winter, and opened the bags, we
found that there were some miserable remains of a
commissariat which had once, indeed, been good, but
was now for the most part mouldy and spoiled by the
damp of the previous autumn. Our flour — our precious
flour — had got mildewed, and had to be thrown away.
The chocolate had been dissolved by the damp, and
no longer existed; and the pemmican — well, it had a
strange appearance, and when we tasted it — ugh! It
too had to be thrown away. There remained a certain
quantity of fish flour, some aleuronate flour, and some
damp half-moulded bread, which we carefully boiled in
train-oil, partly to dry it, as all damp was expelled by the
boiling oil, partly to render it more nutritious by impreg-
nating it with fat. We thought it tasted -delightful, and
preserved it carefully for festal occasions and times when
all other food failed us. Had we been able to dry bear's
flesh we should have managed very well ; but the weather
was too raw and cold, and the strips of flesh we hung up
became only half dry. There was nothing for it but to
lay in a store of as much cut-up raw flesh and blubber as
we could carry with us. Then we filled the three tin
boxes that had held our petroleum with train-oil, which
THE NEW YEAR, i8g6 483
we used as fuel. For cooking on the journey we would
use the pot belonging* to our cooking apparatus; and our
lamp we used as a brazier in which to burn blubber and
train-oil together. These provisions and this fuel did not
constitute a particularly light equipment ; but it had this
advantage, that we should probably be able to replace
what we consumed of it by the way. It was to be hoped
that we should find plenty of game.
Our short sledges were a greater trouble to us, for of
course we could not get them lengthened now. If we
failed to find open water all the way over to Spitzbergen,
and were compelled to drag them over the uneven drift-
ice, we could scarcely imagine how we should get on
with the kayaks lying on these short sledges, without
getting them knocked to pieces on hummocks and press-
ure-ridges; for the kayaks were supported only at the
middle, while both ends projected far beyond the sledge,
and at the slightest inequality these ends hacked against
the ice, and scraped holes in the sail-cloth. We had to
protect them well by lashing bearskins under them ; and
then we had to make the best grips we could contrive
out of the scanty wood we had to fix on the sledges.
This was no easy matter, for the great point was to make
the grips high in order to raise the kayaks as much as
possible and keep them clear of the ice ; and then they
had to be well lashed in order to keep their places. But
we had no cord to lash them with, and had to make it for
ourselves of raw bearskin or walrus hide, which is not the
484 FARTHEST NORTH
best possible material for lashings. This difficulty, too,
we overcame, and got our kayaks to He steadily and well.
We of course laid the heaviest part of their cargo as much
as possible in the middle, so that the ends should not be
broken down by the weight. Our own personal equipment
was quite as difficult to get in order. I have mentioned
that we made ourselves new clothes, and this took a long
time, with two such inexpert tailors; but practice made us
gradually more skilful, and I think we had good reason to
be proud of the results we finally achieved. When we at
last put them on, the clothes had quite an imposing appear-
ance— so we thought, at any rate. We saved them up, and
kept them hanging as long as possible, in order that they
might still be new when we started ; Johansen, I believe,
did not wear his new coat before we fell in with other
people. He declared he must keep it fresh till we arrived
in Norway; he could not go about like a pirate when
he got among his countrymen again. The poor remains
of underclothes that we possessed had, of course, to be
thoroughly washed before we started, so that it should
be possible to move in them without their rasping too
many holes in our skin. The washing we accomplished
as above described. Our foot-gear was in anything but a
satisfactory condition. Socks, indeed, we could make of
bearskin ; but the worst of it was that the soles of our
"komager" were almost worn out. We managed, how-
ever, to make soles of a sort out of walrus hide, by scrap-
ing about half its thickness away and then drying it over
THE NEW YEAR, i8g6 4^5
the lamp. With these soles we mended our " komager,"
after the fashion of the Finns ; we had plenty of " senne "
thread (sedge thread), and we managed to get our " ko-
magers" pretty well water-tight again. Thus, in spite of
everything, we were tolerably well off for clothes, though
it cannot be said that those we had were remarkable for
their cleanliness. To protect us against wind and rain
we had still our wind clothes, which we had patched and
stitched together as well as we could ; but it took a terri-
ble time, for the whole garments now consisted of scarcely
anything else but patches and seams, and when you had
sewed up a hole at one place they split at another the
next time you put them on. The sleeves were particular-
ly bad, and at last I tore both sleeves off my jacket, so
that I should not have the annoyance of seeing them per-
petually stripped away.
It was very desirable, too, that we should have a toler-
ably light sleeping-bag. The one we had brought with
us no longer existed, as we had made clothes out of
the blankets ; so the only thing was to try and make as
h'ght a bag as possible out of bearskin. By picking
out the thinnest skins we possessed, we managed to
make one not so much heavier than the reindeer-skin
bag which we had taken with us on leaving the Fram.
A greater difficulty was to procure a practicable tent.
The one we had had was out of the question. It had been
worn and torn to pieces on our five months' journey of
the year before, and what was left of it the foxes had
4»6 FARTHEST NORTH
made an end of, as we had had it lying spread over our
meat and blubber heap in the autumn to protect it
against the gulls. The foxes had gnawed and torn it in
all directions, and had carried off great strips of it, which
we found scattered around. We speculated a great deal
as to how we could make ourselves a new tent. The
only thing we could think of was to put our sledges,
with the kayaks upon them, parallel to each other at the
distance of about a man's height, then pile snow around
them at the sides until they were closed in, lay our snow-
shoes and bamboo staffs across, and then spread our two
sails, laced together, over the whole, so that they should
reach the ground on both sides. In this way we man-
aged to make ourselves a quite effective shelter, the
kayaks forming the roof ridges, and the sails the side
walls of the tent. It was not quite impervious to drift-
ing snow, and we had usually a good deal of trouble in
stopping up cracks and openings with our wind clothes
and things of that sort.
But the most important part of our equipment was,
after all, our firearms, and these, fortunately, we had
kept in tolerably good order. We cleaned the rifles
thoroughly and rubbed them with train - oil. We had
also a little vaseline and gun-oil left for the locks. On
taking stock of our ammunition, we found, to our joy,
that we still had about lOO rifle cartridges and no small-
shot cartridges We had thus enough, if necessary, for
several more winters.
CHAPTER IX
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD
At last, on Tuesday, May 19th, we were ready for
the start. Our sledges stood loaded and lashed. The
last thing we did was to photograph our hut, both out-
side and inside, and to leave in it a short report of our
journey. It ran thus:
"Tuesday, May 19, 1896. We were frozen in north
of Kotelnoi at about 78° 43' north latitude, September
22, 1893. Drifted northwestward during the following
year, as we had expected to do. Johansen and I left the
Fram, March 14, 1895, at about 84° 4' north latitude
and 103° east longitude,* to push on northward. The
command of the remainder of the expedition was trans-
ferred to Sverdrup. Found no land northward. On
April 6, 1895, we had to turn back at 86° 14' north lati-
tude and about 95° east longitude, the ice having be-
come impassable. Shaped our course for Cape Fligely;
but our watches having stopped, we did not know our
longitude with certainty, and arrived on August 6, 1895,
♦ This was a slip of the pen ; it ought to be 102° east longitude.
488 FARTHEST NORTH
at four glacier-covered islands to the north of this line of
islands, at about 8i° 30' north latitude, and about 7"" E.
of this place. Reached this place August 26, 1895, and
thought it safest to winter here. Lived on bear s flesh.
Are starting to-day southwestward along the land, in-
tending to cross over to Spitzbergen at the nearest point.
We conjecture that we are on Gillies Land.
" Fridtjof Nansen."
This earliest report of our journey was deposited in
a brass tube which had formed the cylinder of the air-
pump of our" Primus." The tube was closed with a plug
of wood and hung by a wire to the roof-tree of the hut.
At length, on Tuesday, the 19th of May, we were
ready, and at 7 p.m. left our winter lair and began our
journey south. After having had so little exercise all
the winter, we were not much disposed for walking, and
thought our sledges with the loaded kayaks heavy to pull
along. In order not to do too much at first, but make
our joints supple before we began to exert ourselves
seriously, we walked for only a few hours the first day, and
then, well satisfied, pitched our camp. There was such a
wonderfully happy feeling in knowing that we were, at
last, on the move, and that we were actually going home-
ward.
The following day (Wednesday, May 20th) we also
did only a short day's march. We were making for the
promontory to the southwest of us that we had been
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD
489
looking at all the winter. Judging from the sky, it was
on the farther side of this headland that we should find
open water. We were very eager to see how the land lay
ahead of this point. If we were north of Cape Lofley,
the land must begin to trend to the southeast. If, on the
" OUR WINTER LAIR
other hand, the trend of the coast was to the southwest,
then this must be a new land farther west, and near
Gillies Land.
The next day {Thursday, May 21st) we reached this
promontory, and pitched our camp there. All through
490 FARTHEST NORTH
the winter we had called it the Cape of Good Hope, as
we expected to find different conditions there which
would facilitate our advance; and our hopes were not
to be disappointed. From the crest of the mountain I
saw open water not far off to the south, and also two
new snow-lands, one large one in front (in the south,
40° VV.), and one not much smaller in the west (S. 85°
W.). It was completely covered with glacier, and looked
like an evenly vaulted shield. I could not see clearly
how the coast ran on account of a headland to the
southward. But it did not seem to trend to the south-
east, so that we could not be near Cape Lofley. We
now hoped that we might be able to launch our kayaks
the very next day, and that we should then make rapid
progress in a southwesterly direction; but in this we
were disappointed. The next day there was a snow-
storm, and we had to stay where we were. As I lay in
the bag in the morning, preparing breakfast, I all at
once caught sight of a bear walking quietly past us at
a distance of about twenty paces. It looked at us and
our kayaks once or twice, but could not quite make out
what we were, as the wind was in another direction and
it could not get scent of us, so it continued its way. I
let it go unharmed ; we still had food enough.
On Saturday, May 23d, the weather was still bad, but
we went ahead a little way to examine our road onward.
The point to be found out was whether we ought at
once to make for the open water, that lay on the other
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 493
side of an island to the west, or whether we ought to
travel southward upon the shore-ice along the land. We
came to a headland consisting of uncommonly marked
columnar basalt, which on account of its peculiar form
we called the "Castle."* We here saw that the land
stretched farther in a southerly direction, and that the
open water went the same way, only separated from
the land by a belt of shore-ice. As the latter appeared
to be full of cracks, we decided to go over to the isl-
and in the west, and put to sea as quickly as possible.
We therefore returned and made all ready. Our prep-
arations consisted, first and foremost, in carefully calk-
ing the seams of our kayaks by melting stearine over
them, and then restowing the cargo so as to leave room
for us to sit in them. The following day (Sunday,
May 24th; we moved on westward towards the island,
and as the wind was easterly and we were able to
employ sails on the sledges we got on pretty quickly
across the flat ice. As we approached the island, how-
ever, a storm blew up from the southwest, and after
the sledges had upset several times we were obliged
to take down our sails. The sky became overcast,
the air grew misty, and we worked our way against
the strong wind in towards the land. The thing was
to get to land as quickly as possible, as we might evi-
dently expect bad weather. But now the ice became
♦Jackson's "Cape M'Clintock."
494 FARTHEST NORTH
treacherous. As we approached the land there were a
number of cracks in every direction, and these were
covered with a layer of snow, so that it was difficult to
see them. While Johansen was busy lashing the sail and
mast securely to the deck of his kayak, so that the wind
should not carry them away, I went on ahead as fast as I
could to look for a camping-ground ; but all of a sudden
the ice sank beneath me, and I lay in the water in a
broad crack which had been concealed by the snow. I
tried to get out again, but with my snow-shoes firmly
fastened it was not possible to get them through all the
rubble of snow and lumps of ice that had fallen into the
water on the top of them. In addition to this, I was
fastened to the sledge by the harness, so that I could not
turn round. Fortunately, in the act of falling, I had dug
my pikestaff into the ice on the opposite side of the
crack, and, holding myself up by its aid and the one arm
that I had got above the edge of the ice, I lay waiting
patiently for Johansen to come and pull me out. I was
sure he must have seen me fall in, but could not turn
enough to look back. When I thought a long time had
passed, and I felt the staff giving way and the water
creeping farther and farther up my body, I began to call
out, but received no answer. I shouted louder for help,
and at last heard a " Hullo !" far behind. After some
little time, when the water was up to my chest, and it
would not have been long before I was right under,
Johansen came up and I was pulled out. He had been
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 497
SO occupied with his sledge that he had not noticed that
I was in the water until the last time I called. This ex-
perience had the effect of making me careful in the fut-
ure not to go on such deceitful ice with my snow-shoes
firmly attached. By observing a little more caution, we
at length reached the land, and found a camping-place
where there was a certain amount of shelter. To our
surprise, we discovered a number of walruses lying along
the shore here, herd upon herd, beside the cracks ; but
we took no notice of them either, for the present ; we
thought we still had a sufficient supply of food and
blubber to draw upon.
During the succeeding days the storm raged, and we
could not move. The entry for Tuesday, May 26th, is
as follows : " We have lain weather-bound yesterday and
to-day beneath the glacier cliff on the north side of
this island. The snow is so wet that it will be difficult
to get anywhere ; but it is to be hoped that the open
channel outside is not far off, and we shall get on quickly
there when once the storm abates. We shall then make
up for this long delay." But our stay was to be longer
than we thought. On Thursday, May 28th, the journal
says : ** We were up on the island yesterday, and saw
open sea to the south, but are still lying weather-bound
as before. I only moved our tent-place a little on account
of the cracks; the ice threatened to open just beneath
us. There are a great many walruses here. When we
go out over the ice the fellows follow us and come up in
11.-32
49^ FARTHEST NORTH
the cracks beside us. We can often hear them grunting
as they go, and butting at the ice under our feet."
That day, however, the storm so far abated that we
were able to move southward along the east side of the
island. On the way we passed a large open pool in
the shore-ice between this island and the land. It must
have been shallow here, for there was a strong current,
which was probably the cause of this pool being kept
open. We passed two or three herds of walruses ly-
ing on the ice near it. Concerning these I wrote that
evening: "I went up to one herd of about nine to take
photographs of the animals. I went close up to them,
behind a little mound, and they did not see me ; but di-
rectly I rose up, not more than 20 feet away from them,
a female with her young one plunged into the water
through a hole close by. I could not get the others
to stir, however much I shouted. Johansen now joined
me, and, although he threw lumps of snow and ice
at them, they would not move ; they only struck their
tusks into the lumps and sniffed at them, while I kept
on photographing them. When I went right up to
them, most of them at last got up and floundered away
towards the hole, and one plunged in; but the others
stopped and composed themselves to sleep again. Soon,
too, the one that had first disappeared came back and
crept on to the ice. The two that lay nearest to me
never stirred at all ; they raised their heads a little once
or twice, looked contemptuously at me as I stood three
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD At99
paces from them, laid their heads down and went to
sleep again. They barely moved when I pricked them
in the snout with my pikestaff, but I was able to get
a pretty good photograph of them. I thought I now
had enough, but before I went I gave the nearest one
a parting poke in the snout with my pikestaff; it got
right up, grunted discontentedly, looked in astonishment
at me with its great round eyes, and then quietly be-
gan to scratch the back of its head, and I got another
photograph, whereupon it again lay quietly down. When
we went on, they all immediately settled themselves
again, and were lying like immovable masses of flesh
when we finally rounded the promontory and lost sight
of them."
Once more we had snow-storms, and now lay weather-
bound on the south side of the island.
" Friday, May 29th. Lying weather-bound.
"Saturday, May 30th. Lying weather-bound, stop-
ping up the tent against the driving snow while the wind
flits round us, attacking first one side and then another."
It was all we could do to keep ourselves tolerably dry
during this time, with the snow drifting in through the
cracks on all sides, on us and our bag, melting and sat-
urating everything.
" Monday, June ist. Yesterday it at last grew a little
calmer, and cleared up so that we had bright sunshine in
the evening. We rejoiced in the thought of moving on,
got our kayaks and everything ready to launch, and
500 FARTHEST NORTH
crept into our bag, to turn out early this morning for a
fine day, as we thought. The only thing that made it a
little doubtful was that the barometer had ceased rising —
had fallen again i millim., in fact. In the night the storm
came on again — the same driving snow, only with this
difference, that now the wind is going round the compass
with the sun, so there must soon be an end of it. This
is beginning to be too much of a good thing; I am now
seriously afraid that the Fram will get home before us.
I went for a walk inland yesterday. There were flat
clay and gravel stretches everywhere. I saw numerous
traces of geese, and in one place some white egg-shell,
undoubtedly belonging to a goose's egg." We therefore
called the island Goose Island.*
"Tuesday, June 2d. Still lay weather-bound last
night, and to-day it has been windier than ever. But
now, towards evening, it has begun to abate a little,
with a brightening sky and sunshine now and again;
so we hope that there will really be a change for the
better. Here we lie in a hollow in the snow, getting
wetter and wetter, and thinking that it is June already
and everything looks beautiful at home, while we have
got no farther than this. But it cannot be much longer
before we are there. Oh, it is too much to think of ! If
only I could be sure about the Fram ! If she arrives
before us, ah ! what will those poor waiting ones do T
* Jackson, who saw it in the spring of 1895, called it Mary Elizabeth
Island.
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD SO I
At length, on Wednesday, June 3d, we went on;
but now the west wind had driven the ice landward,
so that there was no longer open sea to travel south
upon, and there was nothing for it but to go over the ice
along the land. However, the wind was from the north,
and we could put up a sail on our sledges, and thus get
along pretty fast. We still saw several walruses on the
ice, and there were also some in the water that were
continually putting their heads up in the cracks and
grunting after us. The ice we were crossing here was
remarkably thin and bad, and as we got farther south it
became even worse. It was so weighed down with the
masses of snow that lay upon it that there was water
beneath the snow wherever we turned. We had to
make towards land as quickly as possible, as it looked
still worse farther south. By going on snow-shoes,
however, we kept fairly well on the top of the snow,
though often both sledge and snow-shoes sank down
into the water below and stuck fast, and no little
trouble would be caused in getting everything safely on
to firmer ice again. At last, however, we got in under
a high, perpendicular basaltic cliff,* which swarmed
with auks. This was the first time we had seen these
birds in any great quantity ; hitherto we had only seen
one or two singly. We took it as a sign that we were
approaching better-known regions. Alongside of it, to
♦ Jackson's " Cape Fisher."
502 FARTHEST NORTH
the southeast, there was a small rocky knoll, where num-
bers of fulmar [Procellaria glacialis) seemed to be breed-
ing. Our supply of food was now getting very low, and
we had been hoping for a visit from some bear or other ;
but now that we needed them they of course kept away.
We then determined to shoot birds, but the auks flew too
high, and all we got was a couple of fulmars. As we just
then passed a herd of walruses we determined to take
some of this despised food, and we shot one of them, kill-
ing it on the spot. At the report the others raised their
heads a little, but only to let them fall again, and went on
sleeping. To get our prize skinned with these brutes
lying around us was not to be thought of, and we must
drive them into the water in some way or other. This
was no easy matter, however. We went up to them,
shouted and halloed, but they only looked at us lazily, and
did not move. Then we hit them with snow-shoe staves ;
they became angry, and struck their tusks into the ice
until the chips flew, but still would not move. At last,
however, by continuing to poke and beat, we drove the
whole herd into the water, but it was not quick work. In
stately, dignified procession they drew back and shambled
slowly off, one after the other, to the water's edge. Here
they again looked round at us, grunting discontentedly,
and then plunged into the water one by one. But while
we were cutting up their comrade they kept coming up
again in the crack beside us, grunting and creeping half up
on the ice, as if to demand an explanation of our conduct.
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 503
After having supplied ourselves with as much meat
and blubber as we thought we needed for the moment, as
well as a quantity of blood, we pitched our tent close by
and boiled a good mess of blood porridge, which consisted
of a wonderful mixture of blood, powdered fish, Indian
meal, and blubber. We still had a good wind, and sailed
away merrily with our sledges all night. When we got to
the promontory to the south of us we came to open water,
which here ran right up to the edge of the glacier-covered .
land; and all we had to do was to launch our kayaks and
set off along by the glacier cliff, in open sea for the first
time this year. It was strange to be using paddles again
and to see the water swarming with birds — auks and little
auks and kittiwakes all round. The land was covered
with glaciers, the basaltic rock only projecting in one or
two places. There were moraines, too, in several places
on the glaciers. We were not a little surprised, after
going some way, when we discovered a flock of eider-
ducks on the water. A little later we saw two geese
sitting on the shore, and felt as if we had come into quite
civilized regions again. After a couple of hours' paddling
our progress south was stopped by shore-ice, while the
open water extended due west towards some land we had
previously seen in that direction, but which was now
covered by mist. We were very much in doubt as to
which way to choose, whether to go on in the open water
westward — which must take us towards Spitzbergen —
or to leave it and again take to our sledges over the
504 FARTHEST NORTH
smooth shore -ice to the south. Although the air was
thick and we could not see far, we felt convinced that by
going over the ice we should at last reach open water on
the south side of these islands among which we were.
Perhaps we might there find a shorter route to Spitz-
bergen. In the meantime morning was far advanced
(June 5th), and we pitched our camp, well pleased at
having got so far south.*
As it was still so hazy the following day (Saturday,
June 6th) that we could not see any more of our sur-
roundings than before, and as there was a strong north
wind, which would be inconvenient in crossing the open
sea westward, we determined on going southward over
the shore-ice. We were once more able to use a sail on
our sledges, and we got on better than ever. We often
went along without any exertion ; we could stand on our
snow-shoes, each in front of our sledge, holding the steer-
ing-pole (a bamboo cane bound firmly to the stem of the
kayaks) and letting the wind carry us along. In the
gusts we often went along like feathers, at other times
we had to pull a little ourselves. We made good prog-
ress, and kept on until far into the night, as we wanted
to make as much use of the wind as possible. We
crossed right over the broad sound we had had in front
of us, and did not stop until we were able to pitch our
camp by an island on its southern side.
* This was on the south side of Jackson's ** Cape Richthofen," the
most northerly point which Jackson had reached earlier the same spring.
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 505
Next evening (Sunday, June 7th) we went on again,
still southward, before the same northerly wind, and we
could sail well. We had hoped to be able to reach the
land before we again pitched our camp, but it was farther
than we had thought, and at last, when morning (Monday,
June 8th) was far advanced, we had to stop in the middle
of the ice in a furious storm. The numerous islands
among which we now were seemed more and more mys-
terious to us. I find in my journal for that day : "Are
continually discovering new islands or lands to the south.
There is one great land of snow beyond us in the west,
and it seems to extend southward a long way." This
snow land seemed to us extremely mysterious; we had
not yet discovered a single dark patch upon it, only snow
and ice everywhere. We had no clear idea of its extent,
as we had only caught glimpses of it now and then when
the mist lifted a little. It seemed to be quite low, but we
thought that it must be of a wider extent than any of
the lands we had hitherto travelled along. To the east
we found island upon island, and sounds and fjords the
whole way along. We mapped it all as well as we could,
but this did not help us to find out where we were ; they
seemed to be only a crowd of small islands, and every
now and then a view of what we took to be the ocean to
the east opened up between them.
The ice over which we were now travelling was
remarkably different from that which we had had farther
north, near our winter-hut ; it was considerably thinner,
506 FARTHEST NORTH
and covered, too, with very thick snow, so that it was
not in a good condition for travelling over. When,
therefore, the following day (Tuesday, June 9th), it also
began to stick in lumps to our snow-shoes and the sledge-
runners, they both worked rather heavily ; but the wind
was still favorable, and we sailed along well notwith-
standing. As we were sailing full speed, flying before
the wind, and had almost reached the land, Johansen
and his sledge suddenly sank down, and it was with
difficulty that he managed to back himself and his
things against the wind and on to the firmer ice. As
I was rushing along, I saw that the snow in front of
me had a suspiciously wet color, and my snow-shoes
began to cut through; but fortunately I still had time
to luff before any further misfortune occurred. We
had to take down our sails and make a long detour
westward, before we could continue our sail. Next
day, also, the snow clogged, but the wind had fresh-
ened, and we sailed better than ever. As the land to
the east* now appeared to trend to the southeast, we
steered for the southernmost point of a land to the
southwest.! It began to be more and more exciting.
We thought we must have covered about 14 miles that
day, and reckoned that we must be in 80° 8' north lati-
tude, and we still had land in the south. If it con-
tinued far in that direction it was certain that we could
♦ It proved afterwards to be " Hooker Island."
+ It proved to be "Northbrook Island."
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 509
not be on Franz Josef Land (as I still thought might be
the case) ; but we could not see far in this hazy atmos-
phere, and then it was remarkable that the coast on
the east began to run in an easterly direction. I thought
it might agree with Leigh -Smith's map of Markham
Sound. In that case we must have come south through
a sound which neither he nor Payer could have seen,
and we were therefore not so far out of our longitude,
after all. But no ! in our journey southward we could
not possibly have passed right across Payer's Dove
Glacier and his various islands and lands without hav-
ing seen them. There must still be a land farther west
of this, between Franz Josef Land and Spitzbergen;
Payer's map could not be altogether wrong. I wanted
to reach the land in the southwest, but had to stop on
the ice ; it was too far.
"Our provisions are getting low; we have a little
meat for one more day, but there is- no living thing to
be seen, not a seal on the ice, and no open water any-
where. How long is this going on ? If we do not soon
reach open sea again, where there may be game to be
had, things will not look very pleasant.
" Tuesday, June i6th. The last few days have been
so eventful that there has been no time to write. I must
try to make up for lost time this beautiful morning, while
the sun is peeping in under the tent. The sea lies blue
and shining outside, and one can lie and fancy one's self
at home on a June morning."
5IO FARTHEST NORTH
On Friday, June 12th, we started again at 4 a.m. with
sails on our sledges. There had been frost, so the snow
was in much better condition again. It had been very-
windy in the night, too, so we hoped for a good day.
On the preceding day it had cleared up so that we could
at last see distinctly the lands around. We now discov-
ered that we must steer in a more westerly direction than
we had done during the preceding days, in order to reach
the south point of the land to the west. The lands to
the east disappeared eastward, so we had said good-bye
to them the day before. We now saw, too, that there
was a broad sound in the land to the west,* and that it
was one entire land, as we had taken it to be. The land
north of this sound was now so far away that I could
only just see it. In the meantime the wind had dropped
a good deal ; the ice, too, became more and more uneven
— it was evident that we had come to the drift-ice, and it
was much harder work than we had expected. We could
see by the air that there must be open water to the south,
and as we went on we heard, to our joy, the sound of
breakers. At 6 a.m. we stopped to rest a little, and on
going up on to a hummock to take a longitude observa-
tion I saw the water not far off. From a higher piece of
glacier-ice we could see it better. It extended towards
the promontory to the southwest. Even though the wind
had become a little westerly now, we still hoped to be able
♦ The sound between Northbrook Island and Bruce Island on the one
side and Peter Head, on Alexandra Land, on the other side.
THE JO URNE Y SO UTHWARD 5 1 1
to sail along the edge of the ice, and determined to go to
the water by the shortest way. We were quickly at the
edge of the ice, and once more saw the blue water spread
out before us. We soon had our kayaks lashed together
and the sail up, and put to sea. Nor were our hopes
disappointed; we sailed well all day long. At times the
wind was so strong that we cut through the water, and
the waves washed unpleasantly over our kayaks ; but we
got on, and we had to put up with being a little wet.
We soon passed the point we had been making for,* and
here we saw that the land ran westward, that the edge
of the unbroken shore-ice extended in the same direc-
tion, and that we had water in front of us. In good
spirits, we sailed westward along the margin of the ice.
So we were at last at the south of the land in which we
had been wandering for so long, and where we had spent
a long winter. It struck me more than ever that, in
spite of everything, this south coast would agree well
with Leigh Smith's map of Franz Josef Land and the
country' surrounding their winter quarters; but then I
remembered Payer s map and dismissed the thought.
In the evening we put in to the edge of the ice, so as
to stretch our legs a little ; they were stiff with sitting
in the kayak all day, and we wanted to get a little view
over the water to the west by ascending a hummock.
As we went ashore the question arose as to how we
* Cape Barents.
5 « 2 FARTHEST XORTH
should moor our precious vessel. "Take one of the
braces," said Johansen; he was standing on the ice.
" But is it strong enough ?" " Yes/' he answered ; •• I
have used it as a halyard on my sledge -sail all the
time." " Oh, well, it doesn't require much to hold these
light kayaks," said I, a little ashamed of having been
so timid, and I moored them with the halyard, which
was a strap cut from a raw walrus hide. We had been
on the ice a little while, mo\ang up and down close
to the kayaks. The wind had dropped considerably, and
seemed to be more westerly, making it doubtful whether
we could make use of it any longer, and we went up on
to a hummock close by to ascertain this better. As we
stood there, Johansen suddenly cried, " I say! the kayaks
are adrift !" We' ran down as hard as we could. They
were already a little way out, and were drifting quickly
off; the painter had given way. *' Here, take my watch!"
I said to Johansen, giving it to him ; and as quickly as
possible I threw off some clothing, so as to be able to
swim more easily. I did not dare to take everj'thing
off, as I might so easily get cramp. I sprang into the
water, but the wind was off the ice, and the light
kayaks, with their high rigging, gave it a good hold.
They were already well out, and were drifting rapidly.
The water was icy cold; it was hard work swimming
with clothes on; and the kayaks drifted farther and
farther, often quicker than I could swim. It seemed
more than doubtful whether I could manage it. But all
THE JO URNE V SO UTHWARD 5 1 3
our hope was drifting there; all we possessed was on
board — we had not even a kni!e with us ; and whether I
got cramp and sank here, or turned back without the
kayaks, it would come to pretty much the same thing;
so I exerted myself to the utmost. When I got tired
I turned over, and swam on my back, and then
I could see Johansen walking restlessly up and down
on the ice. Poor lad ! He could not stand still, and
thought it dreadful not to be able to do anything. He
had not much hope that I could do it, but it would not
improve matters in the least if he threw himself into
the water too. He said afterwards that these were the
worst moments he had ever lived through. But when
I turned over again and saw that I was nearer the
kayaks, my courage rose, and I redoubled my exertions.
I felt, however, that my limbs were gradually stiffening
and losing all feeling, and I knew that in a short time I
should not be able to move them. But there was not far
to go now; if I could only hold out a little longer we
should be saved — and I went on. The strokes became
more and more feeble, but the distance became shorter
and shorter, and I began to think I should reach the
kayaks. At last I was able to stretch out my hand to
the snow-shoe which lay across the sterns. I grasped it,
pulled myself in to the edge of the kayak — and we were
saved ! I tried to pull myself up, but the whole of my
body was so stiff with cold that this was an impossibility.
For a moment I thought that, after all, it was too late ; I
1I.-33
SH FARTHEST NORTH
was to get so far, but not be able to get in. After a
little, however, I managed to swing one leg up on to the
edge of the sledge which lay on the deck, and in this way
managed to tumble up. There I sat, but so stiff with
cold that I had difficulty in paddling. Nor was it easy
to paddle in the double vessel, where I first had to take
one or two strokes on one side, and then step into the
other kayak to take a few strokes on the other side. If I
had been able to separate them, and row in one while I
towed the other, it would have been easy enough ; but I
could not undertake that piece of work, for I should have
been stiff before it was done ; the thing to be done was to
keep warm by rowing as hard as I could. The cold had
robbed my whole body of feeling, but when the gusts of
wind came they seemed to go right through me as I
stood there in my thin, wet woollen shirt. I shivered, my
teeth chattered, and I was numb almost all over; but I
could still use the paddle, and I should get warm when I
got back on to the ice again. Two auks were lying close
to the bow, and the thought of having auk for supper
was too tempting; we were in want of food now. I
got hold of my gun and shot them with one discharge.
Johansen said afterwards that he started at the report,
thinking some accident had happened, and could not un-
derstand what I was about out there, but when he saw
me paddle and pick up two birds he thought I had gone
out of my mind. At last I managed to reach the edge
of the ice, but the current had driven me a long way
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD
515
from our landing-place. Johansen came along the edge
of the ice, jumped into the kayak beside me, and we
soon got back to our place. I was undeniably a good
deal exhausted, and could barely manage to crawl on
MANAGED TO SWING ONE LEG UP
land. I could scarcely stand; and while I shook and
trembled all over Johansen had to pull off the wet things
I had on, put on the few dry ones I still had in reserve,
and spread the sleeping-bag out upon the ice. I packed
5l6 FARTHEST NORTH
myself well into it, and he covered me with the sail and
everything he could find to keep out the cold air. There
I lay shivering for a long time, but gradually the warmth
began to return to my body. For some tinie longer,
however, my feet had no more feeling in them than
icicles, for they had been partly naked in the water.
While Johansen put up the tent and prepared supper,
consisting of my two auks, I fell asleep. He let me
sleep quietly, and when I awoke supper had been ready
for some time, and stood simmering over the fire. Auk
and hot soup soon effaced the last traces of my swim.
During the night my clothes were hung out to dry, and
the next day were all nearly dry again.
As the tidal current was strong here, and there was
no wind for sailing, we had to wait for the turn of the
tide, so as not to have the current against us ; and it was
not until late the following evening that we went on
again. We paddled and got on well until towards morn-
ing (June 14th), when we came to some great herds of
walrus on the ice. Our supply of meat was exhausted
but for some auks we had shot, and we had not many
pieces of blubber left. We would rather have had a
bear, but as we had seen none lately it was perhaps
best to supply ourselves here. We put in, and went up
to one herd behind a hummock. We preferred young
ones, as they were much easier to manipulate ; and
there were several here. I first shot one quite small,
and then another. The full-grown animals started up
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD S^7
at the first report and looked round, and at the
second shot the whole herd began to go into the
water. The mothers, however, would not leave their
dead young ones. One sniffed at its young one, and
pushed it, evidently unable to make out what was the
matter; it only saw the blood spurting from its head.
It cried and wailed like a human being. At last, when
the herd began to plunge in, the mother pushed her
young one before her towards the water. I now
feared that I should lose my booty, and ran forward
to save it ; but she was too quick for me. She
took the young one by one fore-leg, and disappeared
with it like lightning into the depths. The other
mother did the same. I hardly knew how it had
all happened, and remained standing at the edge
looking down after them. I thought the young ones
must rise to the surface again, but there was nothing to
be seen ; they had disappeared for good. The mothers
must have taken them a long way. I then went towards
another herd, where there were also young ones, and
shot one of them ; but, made wiser by experience, I shot
the mother too. It was a touching sight to see her bend
over her dead young one before she was shot, and even
in death she lay holding it with one fore-leg. So now
we had meat and blubber enough to last a long time, and
meat, too, that was delicious, for the side of young walrus
tastes like loin of mutton. To this we added a dozen
auks, so our larder was now well furnished with good
5i8 FARTHEST NORTH
food ; and if we needed more the water was full of auks
and other food, so there was no dearth.
The walruses here were innumerable. The herds
that had been lying on the ice and had now disappeared
were large ; but there had been many more in the water
outside. It seemed to seethe with them on every side,
great and small ; and when I estimate their number to
have been at least 300, it is certainly not over the mark.
At 1.30 the next morning (Monday, June 15th) we
proceeded on our way in beautifully calm weather. As
walruses swarmed on all sides, we did not much like
paddling singly, and for some distance lashed the kayaks
together ; for we knew how obtrusive these gentlemen
could be. The day before they had come pretty near,
popped up close beside my kayak, and several times fol-
lowed us closely a long distance, but without doing us
any harm. I was inclined to think it was curiosity, and
that they were not really dangerous; but Johansen was
not so sure of this. He thought we had had experience
to the contrary, and urged that at any rate caution could
do no harm. All day long we saw herds, that often fol-
lowed us a long way, pressing in round the kayaks. We
kept close to the edge of the ice ; and if any came too
near, we put in, if possible, on an ice-foot* We also
kept close together or beside one another. We paddled
♦ The ice-foot is the part of a floe which often projects into the water
under the surface. It is formed through the thawing of the upper part of
the ice in the summer-time by the warmer surface layer of the sea.
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 5^9
past one large herd on the ice, and could hear them a
long way off lowing like cows.
We glided quickly on along the coast, but unfortu-
nately a mist hung over it, so that it was often im-possible
to determine whether they were channels or glaciers be-
tween the dark patches which we could just distinguish
upon it. I wanted very much to have seen a little more
of this land. My suspicion that we were in the neigh-
borhood of the Leigh Smith winter quarters had become
stronger than ever. Our latitude, as also the direction
of the coast -line and the situation of the islands and
sounds, seemed to agree far too well to admit of the pos-
sibility of imagining that another such group of islands
could lie in the short distance between Franz Josef Land
and Spitzbergen. Such a coincidence would be alto-
gether too remarkable. Moreover, we caught glimpses
of land in the far west which in that case could not lie
far from Northeast Land. But Payer's map of the land
north of this.^^ Johansen maintained, with reason, that
Payer could not possibly have made such mistakes as
we should in that case be obliged to assume.
Towards morning we rowed for some time without
seeing any walrus, and now felt more secure. Just then
we saw a solitary rover pop up a little in front of us.
Johansen, who was in front at the time, put in to a sunken
ledge of ice ; and although I really thought that this was
caution carried to excess, I was on the point of follow-
ing his example. I had not got so far, however, when
/
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 521
listened, and now heard the water trickling into the
kayak under me. To turn and run her in on to the
sunken ledge of ice was the work of a moment, but
I sank there. The thing was to get out and on to
the ice, the kayak all the time getting fuller. The
edge of the ice was high and loose, but I managed to
get up ; and Johansen, by tilting the sinking kayak over
to starboard, so that the leak came above the water,
managed to bring her to a place where the ice was
low enough to admit of our drawing her up. All I
possessed was floating about inside, soaked through.
" What I most regret is that the water has got into the
photographic apparatus, and perhaps my precious pho-
tographs are ruined.
"So here we lie, with all our worldly goods spread
out to dry and a kayak that must be mended before
we can face the walrus again. It is a good big rent
that he has made, at least six inches long; but it is
fortunate that it was no worse. How easily he might
have wounded me in the thigh with that tusk of his!
And it would have fared ill with me if we had been
farther out, and not just at such a convenient place by
the edge of the ice, where there was a sunken ledge.
The sleeping-bag was soaking wet; we wrung it out as
well as we could, turned the hair outside, and have
spent a capital night in it."
On the evening of the same day I wrote: "To-day
I have patched my kayak, and we have gone over all
522 FARTHEST NORTH
the seams in both kayaks with stearine; so now we
hope we shall be able to go on in quite sound boats.
In the meantime the walruses are lying outside, staring
at us with their great, round eyes, grunting and blow-
ing, and now and then clambering up on the edge of
the ice, as though they wanted to drive us away.
" Tuesday, June 23d.
" • Do I sleep ? Do I dream ?
Do I wonder and doubt?
Are things what they seem?
Or are visions about ?'
What has happened? I can still scarcely grasp it.
How incessant are the vicissitudes in this wandering
life! A few days ago swimming in the water for dear
life, attacked by walrus, living the savage life which I
have lived for more than a year now, and sure of a
long journey before us over ice and sea through un-
known regions before we should meet with other
human beings — a journey full of the same ups and
downs, the same disappointments, that we have become
so accustomed to — and now living the life of a civilized
European, surrounded by everything that civilization
can afford of luxury and good living, with abundance
of water, soap, towels, clean, soft woollen clothes, books,
and everything that we have been sighing for all these
weary months.
" It was past midday on June 17th when I turned out
to prepare breakfast. I had been down to the edge of
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 525
the ice to fetch salt-water, had made up the fire, cut up
the meat and put it in the pot, and had already taken
off one boot, preparatory to creeping into the bag again,
when I saw that the mist over the land had risen a little
since the preceding day. I thought it would be as well
to take the opportunity of having a look round, so I
put on my boot again and went up on to a hummock
near to look at the land beyond. A gentle breeze
came from the land, bearing with it a confused noise
of thousands of bird -voices from the mountain there.
As I listened to these sounds of life and movement,
watched flocks of auks flying to and fro above my
head, and as my eye followed the line of coast, stop-
ping at the dark, naked cliffs, glancing at the cold,
icy plains and glaciers in a land which I believed to be
unseen by any human eye and untrodden by any hu-
man foot, reposing in Arctic majesty behind its mantle
of mist — a sound suddenly reached my ear so like the
barking of a dog that I started. It was only a couple
of barks, but it could not be anything else. I strained
my ears, but heard no more, only the same bubbling
noise of thousands of birds. I must have been mis-
taken, after all ; it was only birds I had heard ; and again
my eye passed from sound to island in the west. Then
the barking came again — first single barks, then full cry;
there was one deep bark, and one sharper; there was
no longer any room for doubt. At that moment I
remembered having heard two reports the day before
526 FARTHEST NORTH
which I thought sounded like shots, but I had explained
them away as noises in the ice. I now shouted to
Johansen that I heard dogs farther inland. Johansen
started up from the bag where he lay sleeping and
tumbled out of the tent. * Dogs ?' He could not
quite take it in, but had to get up and listen with
his own ears while I got breakfast ready. He very
much doubted the possibility of such a thing, yet fancied
once or twice that he heard something which might be
taken for the barking of dogs ; but then it was drowned
again in the bird-noises, and, everything considered, he
thought that what I had heard was nothing more than
that. I said he might believe what he liked, but I
meant to set off as quickly as possible, and was impatient
to get breakfast swallowed. I had emptied the last of
the Indian meal into the soup, feeling sure that we
should have farinaceous food enough by the evening.
As we were eating we discussed who it could be, wheth-
er our countrymen or Englishmen. If it was the Eng-
lish expedition to Franz Josef Land which had been in
contemplation when we started, what should we do?
' Oh, we'll just have to remain with them a day or two,'
said Johansen, * and then we'll have to go on to Spitz-
bergen, else it will be too long before we get home.'
We were quite agreed on this point; but we would
take care to get some good provisions for the voyage
out of them. While I went on, Johansen was to stay
behind and mind the kavaks, so that we should run no
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 527
risk of their drifting away with the ice. I got out
my snow-shoes, glass, and gun, and was ready. Before
starting I went up once more to listen and look out a
road across the uneven ice to the land. But there was
not a sound like the barking of dogs, only noisy auks,
harsh-toned little auks, and screaming kittiwakes. Was
it these, after all, that I had heard ? I set off in doubt.
Then in front of me I saw the fresh tracks of an animal.
They could hardly have been made by a fox, for if they
were, the foxes here must be bigger than any I had ever
seen. But dogs ? Could a dog have been no more than
a few hundred paces from us in the night without bark-
ing, or without our having heard it ? It seemed scarcely
probable ; but, whatever it was, it could never have been
a fox. A wolf, then } I went on, my mind full of
strange thoughts, hovering between certainty and doubt.
Was all our toil, were all our troubles, privations, and
sufferings to end here ? It seemed incredible, and
yet — Out of the shadow-land of doubt, certainty was
at last beginning to dawn. Again the sound of a dog
yelping reached my ear, more distinctly than ever; I
saw more and more tracks which could be nothing but
those of a dog. Among them were foxes' tracks, and
how small they looked ! A long time passed, and noth-
ing was to be heard but the noise of the birds. Again
arose doubt as to whether it was all an illusion. Per-
haps it was only a dream. But then I remembered the
dogs' tracks; they, at any rate, were no delusion. But
528
FARTHEST NORTH
if there were people here we could scarcely be on Gil-
lies Land or a new land, as we had believed all the win-
ter. We must, after all, be on the south side of Franz
Josef Land, and the suspicion I had had a few days ago
was correct, namely, that we had come south through
FRANZ JOSEF LAND
an unknown sound and out between Hooker Island and
Northbrook Island, and were now off the latter, in spite
of the impossibility of reconciling our position with
Payer's map.
" It was with a strange mixture of feelings that I
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 529
made my way in towards land among the numerous
hummocks and inequalities. Suddenly I thought I heard
a shout from a human voice, a strange voice, the first
for three years. How my heart beat and the blood rush-
ed to my brain as I ran up on to a hummock and
hallooed with all the strength of my lungs! Behind
that one human voice in the midst of the icy desert —
this one message from life — stood home and she who
was waiting there ; and I saw nothing else as I made
my way between bergs and ice -ridges. Soon I heard
another shout, and saw, too, from an ice-ridge, a dark form
moving among the hummocks farther in. It was a dog ;
but farther off came another figure, and that was a man.
Who was it ? Was it Jackson, or one of his companions,
or was it perhaps a fellow-countryman ? We approached
one another quickly. I waved my hat ; he did the same.
I heard him speak to the dog, and I listened. It was
English, and as I drew nearer I thought I recognized Mr.
Jackson, whom I remembered once to have seen.
" I raised my hat; we extended a hand to one another,
with a hearty ' How do you do T Above us a roof of
mist shutting out the world around, beneath our feet the
rugged, packed drift-ice, and in the background a glimpse
of the land, all ice, glacier, and mist On one side the
civilized European in an English check suit and high
rubber water-boots, well shaved, well groomed, bringing
with him a perfume of scented soap, perceptible to the
wild man's sharpened senses ; on the other side the wild
11.-34
53*^> FARTHEST NORTH
man clad in dirty rags, black with oil and soot, with long
uncv>mbod hair and shaggy beard, black with smoke, with
a tacc in which the natural fair complexion could not
^Kvssibly be discerned through the thick layer of fat and
5ii.x>t which a winter's endeavors with warm water, moss,
ra^>. and at last a knife, had sought in vain to remove.
No ono suspected who he was or whence he came.
'' Jackson: * Tm immensely glad to see you.*
'^ 'Thank you ; I also.'
'^ * 1 lave you a ship here ?'
** ' No ; my ship is not here."
* 1 low many are there of you ?'
* I have one companion at the ice-edge.'
As we talked, we had begun to go in towards land.
I took it for granted that he had recognized me, or at
any rate understood who it was that was hidden behind
this savage exterior, not thinking that a total stranger
would be received so heartily. Suddenly he stopped,
looked me full in the face, and said, quickly :
" * Aren't you Nansen V
** * Yes, I am.'
** * I3y Jove ! I am glad to see you !'
** * And he seized my hand and shook it again, while
his whole face became one smile of welcome, and delight
at the unexpected meeting beamed from his dark eyes.
** * Where have you come from now ?' he asked.
" * I left the Fratn in 84° north latitude, after having
drifted for two years, and I reached the 86° 15' parallel,
««
««
\K
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 533
where we had to turn and make for Franz Josef Land.
We were, however, obliged to stop for the winter some-
where north here, and are now on our route to Spitz-
bergen.
" * I congratulate you most heartily. You have made
a good trip of it, and I am awfully glad to be the first
person to congratulate you on your return.'
" Once more he seized my hand and shook it heartily.
I could not have been welcomed more warmly ; that hand-
shake was more than a mere form. In his hospitable
English manner, he said at once that he had * plenty of
room' for us, and that he was expecting his ship every
day. By * plenty of room' I discovered afterwards that he
meant that there were still a few square feet on the floor
of their hut that were not occupied at night by himself
and his sleeping companions. But * heart-room makes
house-room,' and of the former there was no lack. As
soon as I could get a word in, I asked how things were
getting on at home, and he was able to give me the
welcome intelligence that my wife and child had both
been in the best of health when he left two years
ago. Then came Norway's turn, and Norwegian poli-
tics; but he knew nothing about that, and I took it as
a sign that they must be all right too. He now asked if
we could not go out at once and fetch Johansen and our
belongings ; but I thought that our kayaks would be too
heavy for us to drag over this packed-up ice alone, and
that if he had men enough it would certainly be better to
534 FARTHEST NORTH
send them out. If we only gave Johansen notice by a
salute from our guns he would wait patiently; so we
each fired two shots. We soon met several men — Mr.
Armitage, the second in command ; Mr. Child, the
photographer ; and the doctor, Mr. Koetlitz. As they
approached, Jackson gave them a sign, and let them
understand who I was ; and I was again welcomed
heartily. We met yet others — the botanist, Mr. Fisher;
Mr. Burgess, and the Finn Blomqvist (his real name was
Melenius). Fisher has since told me that he at once
thought it must be me when he saw a man out on the ice;
but he quite gave up that idea when he met me, for he
had seen me described as a fair man, and here was a
dark man, with black hair and beard. When they were
all there, Jackson said that I had reached 86° 15' north
latitude, and from seven powerful lungs I was given a
triple British cheer that echoed among the hummocks.
Jackson immediately sent his men off to fetch sledges and
go out to Johansen, while we went on towards the house,
which I now thought I could see on the shore. Jackson
now told me that he had letters for me from home, and
that both last spring and this he had had them with him
when he went north, on the chance of our meeting.
We now found that in March he must have been
at no great distance south of our winter -hut,* but
had to turn there, as he was stopped by open water —
♦ He had reached Cape Richthofen, about 35 miles to the south
of us.
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 535
the same open water over which we had seen the dark
atmosphere all the winter. Only when we came up
nearly to the houses did he inquire more particularly
about the Fram and our drifting, and I briefly told him
our story. He told me afterwards that from the time we
met he had believed that the ship had been destroyed,
and that we two were the only survivors of the expedi-
tion. He thought he had seen a sad expression in my
MR. JACKSON S STATION AT CAPE FLORA
face when he first asked about the ship, and was afraid
of touching on the subject again. Indeed, he had even
quietly warned his men not to ask. It was only through
a chance remark of mine that he found out his mistake,
536 FARTHEST NORTH
and began to inquire more particularly about the Fram
and the others.
" Then we arrived at the house, a low Russian timber
hut lying on a flat terrace, an old shore-line beneath the
mountain, and 50 feet above the sea. It was surrounded
by a stable and four circular tent-houses, in which stores
were kept. We entered a comfortable, warm nest in the
midst of these desolate, wintry surroundings, the roof
and walls covered with green cloth. On the walls hung
photographs, etchings, photo - lithographs, and shelves
everywhere, containing books and instruments; under
the roof clothes and shoes hung drying, and from the
little stove in the middle of the floor of this cozy room
the warm coal fire shone out a hospitable welcome.
A strange feeling came over me as I seated myself
in a comfortable chair in these unwonted surroundings.
At one stroke of changing fate all responsibility, all
troubles were swept away from a mind that had been
oppressed by them during three long years; I was in
a safe haven, in the midst of the ice, and the longings
of three years were lulled in the golden sunshine of the
dawning day. My duty was done ; my task was ended ;
now I could rest, only rest and wait.
" A carefully soldered tin packet was handed to me ;
it contained letters from Norway. It was almost with
a trembling hand and a beating heart that I opened it;
and there were tidings, only good tidings, from home.
A delightful feeling of peace settled upon the soul.
KANSKN AT CAl'K FLORA
KFram fhelei^afh iy Mr. JaikiarCi
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 539
" Then dinner was served, and how nice it was to
have bread, butter, milk, sugar, coffee, and everything that
a year had taught us to do without and yet to long for !
But the height of comfort was reached when we were
able to throw off our dirty rags, have a warm bath, and
get rid of as much dirt as was possible in one bout ; but
we only succeeded in becoming anything like clean af-
ter several days and many attempts. Then clean, soft
clothes from head to foot, hair cut, and the shaggy
beard shaved off, and the transformation from savage
to European was complete, and even more sudden than
in the reverse direction. How delightfully comfortable
it was to be able to put on one's clothes without being
made greasy, but, most of all, to be able to move with-
out feeling them stick to the body with every movement!
" It was not very long before Johansen and the others
followed, with the kayaks and our things. Johansen re-
lated how these warm-hearted Englishmen had given
him and the Norwegian flag a hearty cheer when they
came up and saw it waving beside a dirty woollen shirt
on a bamboo rod, which he had put up by my orders,
so that I could find my way back to him. On the way
hither they had not allowed him to touch the sledges,
he had only to walk beside them like a passenger, and
he said that, of all the ways in which we had travelled
over drift-ice, this was without comparison the most com-
fortable. His reception in the hut was scarcely less hos-
pitable than mine, and he soon went through the same
S40 FARTHEST NORTH
transformation that I had undergone. I no longer rec-
ognize my comrade of the long winter night, and search
in vain for -any trace of the tramp who wandered up and
down that desolate shore, beneath the steep talus and
the dark basalt cliff, outside the low underground hut.
The black, sooty troglodyte has vanished, and in his
place sits a well-favored, healthy-looking European citi-
zen in a comfortable chair, puffing away at a short pipe
or a cigar, and with a book before him, doing his best
to learn English. It seems to me that he gets fatter
and fatter every day, with an almost alarming rapidity.
It is indeed surprising that we have both gained con-
siderably in weight since we left the Fram. When I
came here I myself weighed about 14^ stone, or nearly
22 pounds more than I did when I left the Fram; while
Johansen weighs over 1 1 stone 1 1 pounds, having gained
a little more than 13 pounds. This is the result of a
winter's feeding on nothing but bear's meat and fat in
an Arctic climate. It is not quite like the experiences
of others in parallel circumstances ; it must be our lazi-
ness that has done it. And here we are, living in peace
and quietness, waiting for the ship from home and for
what the future will bring us, while everything is being
done for us to make us forget a winter's privations.
We could not have fallen into better hands, and it is im-
possible to describe the unequalled hospitality and kind-
ness we meet with on all hands, and the comfort we feel.
Is it the year's privations and want of human society, is
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 54'
it common interests, that so draw us to these men in
these desolate regions? I do not know ; but we are
never tired of talking, and it seems as if we had known
one another for years, instead of having met for the first
time a few days ago.
" Wednesday, June 23d. It is now three years since
we left home. As we sat at the dinner-table this even-
A CHAT AFTER DINNER
ing, Hayward, the cook, came rushing in and said there
was a bear outside. We went out, Jackson with his
camera and I with my rifle. We saw the head of the
bear above the edge of the shore; it was sniffling the air
542 FARTHEST NORTH
in the direction of the hut, while a couple of dogs stood
at a respectful distance and barked. As we approached,
it came right up over the edge to us, stopped, showed
its teeth, and hissed, then turned round and went slow-
ly back down towards the shore. To hinder it enough
for Jackson to get near and photograph it, I sent a
bullet into its hind -quarters as it disappeared over the
edge. This helped, and a ball in the left shoulder still
more. Surrounded by a few dogs, it now made a stand.
The dogs grew bolder, and a couple of shots in the
muzzle from Jackson s revolver made the bear quite fu-
rious. It sprang first at one dog, * Misere,' caught hold
of it by the back, and flung it a good way out over the
ice, then sprang at the other, seizing it by one paw and
tearing one toe badly. It then found an old tin box,
bit it flat, and flung it far away. It was wild with fury,
but a ball behind the ear ended its sufferings. It was
a she -bear with milk in the breast; but there was no
sign of any embryo, and no young one was discovered
in the neighborhood.
"Sunday, July 15th. This evening, when Jackson
and the doctor were up on the mountain shooting auks,
the dogs began to make a tremendous row (especially
the bear -dog * Nimrod,' which is chained outside the
door), and howled and whined in a suspicious manner.
Armitage went out, coming back a little while after and
asking if I cared to shoot a bear. I accompanied him
with my rifle and camera. The bear had taken flight to a
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 54?
little hummock out on the ice south of the house, and was
lying at full length on the top of it, with ' Misere' and a
couple of puppies round it, standing at a little distance
and barking persistently. As we approached it fled over
THE WOUNDED KEAR
the ice. The range was long, but, nevertheless, we sent
a few shots after it, thinking we might perhaps retard
its progress. With one of these I was fortunate enough
to hit it in the hind-quarters, and it now fled to a new
ice-hill. Here I was able to get nearer to it. It was
544 FARTHEST NORTH
evidently very much enraged ; and when I came under
the hummock where it stood it showed its teeth and
hissed at me, and repeatedly gave signs of wanting to
jump down on to the top of me. On these occasions
I rapidly got ready my rifle instead of the camera. It
scraped away the loose snow from under its feet to get
a better footing for the leap which, however, it never
took ; and I re-exchanged my rifle for my camera. In
the meantime, Jackson had arrived with his camera on
the other side; and when we had taken all the photo-
graphs we wanted we shot the bear. It was an un-
usually large she-bear."
One of the first things we did when we came to
Mr. Jackson's station was of course to make a close
comparison of our watches with his chronometer ; and
Mr. Armitage was also kind enough to take careful time-
observations for me. It now appears that we had not
been so far out, after all. We had put our watches
about 26 minutes wrong, making a difference of
about 6^'' in longitude. A protracted comparison
undertaken by Mr. Armitage also showed that the
escapement of our watches was very nearly what we
had assumed. With the help of this information I was
now enabled to work out our longitude observations
pretty correctly ; and one of the first tasks I here set
about, now that we once more had access to paper,
writing and drawing materials, and all that we had longed
for so much during the winter, was to prepare a
JOHANSEN AT CAPE FLORA
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD
sketch-map of Franz Josef Land, as our observations
led me to conclude that it must actually be. Mr. Jack-
son very kindly allowed me to consult the map he had
made of that part of the land which he had explored.
This enabled me to dispense with the labor of reckoning
A VISITOR
out my own observations in these localities. Further-
more, I have to thank Mr. Jackson for aid in every
possible way, with navigation -tables, nautical almanac,*
scales, and all sorts of drawing material.
* We had not any nautical almanac for 1896, and had hitherto used
the almanac for the previous year.
548 FARTHEST NORTH
It is by a comparison of Payer's map, Jackson's map,
and my own observations that I have made out the
sketch - map reproduced on page 599. I have altered
Payer's and Jackson s map only at places where my ob-
servations differ essentially from theirs. I make no pre-
tence to give more than a provisional sketch ; I had not
even time to work out my own observations with abso-
lute accuracy. When this has been done, and if I can
gain access to all Payer's material, no doubt a consider-
ably more trustworthy map can be produced. The only
importance which I claim for the accompanying map
is that it shows roughly how what we have hitherto
called Franz Josef Land is cut up into innumerable
small islands, without any continuous and extensive
mass of land. Much of Payer's map I found to coin-
cide well enough with our observations. But the enig-
ma over which we had pondered the whole winter still
remained unsolved. Where was Dove Glacier and the
whole northern part of Wilczek Land.'^ Where were
the islands which Payer had named Braun Island, Hoff-
mann Island, and Freeden Island.'^ The last might,
no doubt, be identified with the southernmost island
of Hvidtenland (White Land), but the others had com-
pletely disappeared. I pondered for a long time over
the question how such a mistake could have crept
into a map by such a man as Payer — an experienced
topographer, whose maps, as a rule, bear the stamp of
great accuracy and care, and a polar traveller for
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 549
whose ability I have always entertained a high respect.
I examined his account of his voyage, and there I found
that he expressly mentions that during the time he was
coasting along this Dove Glacier he had a great deal
of fog, which quite concealed the land ahead. But one
day (it was April 7, 1874) he says:* "At this latitude
(81° 23') it seemed as if Wilczek Land suddenly ter-
minated, but when the sun scattered the driving mists
we saw the glittering ranges of its enormous glaciers —
the Dove Glaciers — shining down on us. Towards the
northeast we could trace land trending to a cape lying in
the gray distance: Cape Buda-Pesth, as it was after-
wards called. The prospect thus opened to us of a vast
glacier land conflicted with the general impression we
had formed of the resemblance between the newly dis-
covered region and Spitzbergen; for glaciers of such
extraordinary magnitude presuppose the existence of a
country stretching far into the interior."
I have often thought over this description, and I
cannot find in Payers book any other information that
throws light upon the mystery. Although, according to
this, it would appear as if they had had clear weather that
day, there must, nevertheless, have been fog-banks lying
over Hvidtenland, uniting it with Wilczek Land to the
south and stretching northward towards Crown Prince
Rudolf Land. The sun shining on these fog-banks must
♦ New Lands within the Arctic Circle, By J. Payer, Vol. II., p. 129.
5 so FARTHEST NORTH
have glittered so that they were taken for glaciers along
a continuous coast. I can all the more easily understand
this mistake, as I was myself on the point of falling into
it. As before related, if the weather had not cleared on
the evening of June nth, enabling us to discern the
sound between Northbrook Island and Peter Head (Al-
exandra Land), we should have remained under the im-
pression that we had here continuous land, and should
have represented it as such in mapping this region.
Mr. Jackson and I frequently discussed the naming of
the lands we had explored. I asked him whether he
would object to my naming the land on which I had
wintered " Frederick Jackson's Island," as a small token
of our gratitude for the hospitality he had shown us.
We had made the discovery that this island was sepa-
rated by sounds from the land farther north which Payer
had named Karl Alexander Land. For the rest, I re-
frained from giving names to any of the places which
Jackson had seen before I saw them.
The country around Cape Flora proved to be very
interesting from the geological point of view, and as
often as time permitted I investigated its structure,
either alone, or more frequently in company with the
doctor and geologist of the English expedition, Dn
Koetlitz. Many an interesting excursion did we make
together up and down those steep moraines in search of
fossils, which in certain places we found in great numbers.
It appeared that from the sea-level up to a height of
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 553
about 500 or 600 feet the land consisted of a soft clay
mixed with lumps of a red-brown clay sandstone, in which
lumps the fossils chiefly abounded. But the earth was
so overstrewn with loose stones, which had rolled down
from the basalt walls above, that it was difficult to reach
it. For a long time I maintained that all this clay was
only a comparatively late strand formation; but the
doctor was indefatigable in his efforts to convince me
that it really was an old and very extensive formation,
stretching right under the superimposed basalt. At last
I had to yield, when we arrived at the topmost stratum
of the clay and I saw it actually going under the basalt,
and found some shallower strata of basalt lower down in
the clay. An examination of the fossils, which consisted
for the most part of ammonites and belemnites, convinced
me that the whole of this clay formation must date from
the Jurassic period. At several places Dr. Koetlitz had
found thin strata of coal in the clay. Petrified wood was
also of common occurrence. But over the clay forma-
tion lay a mighty bed of basalt 600 or 700 feet in
height, which was certainly not the least interesting feat-
ure of the country. It was distinguished by its coarse-
grained structure from the majority of typical basalts,
and seemed to be closely related to those which are
found in Spitzbergen and Northeast Land.* The ba-
salt, however, seems to vary a good deal in appearance
♦ Where they are generally called diabases.
554 FARTHEST NORTH
here in Franz Josef Land. That which we found farther
north — for example, at Cape M'CIintock and on Goose
Isl.md — W.1S coii?iderably more coarse-grained than that
whicii wo found here. The situation of the basalt here
ow Northij;vok Island and the surrounding islands was
BASALTIC ROCK
also very different from that which we had observed far-
ther north. It is here met with, as a rule, only at a
hei"ht of soo or 600 feet above the sea, while on the
more northerly islands— from 81' northward — it reached
nj;lil to the shore. Thus it dropped in an almost per-
nendiiiilar wall straight into the sea at Jackson's Cape
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 555
Fisher, in 8i°. It was the same at Cape M*Clintock, at
our winter cabin, at the headland of columnar basalt
where we passed the night of August 25, 1895, at Cape
Clements Markham, and at the sharp point of rock where
we landed on the night between August i6th and 17th.
The structure seemed to be similar, too, so far as we had
seen, on the south side of Crown Prince Rudolfs Land.
Wherever we had been to the northward I had kept a
sharp lookout for strata whose fossils could give us any
information as to the geological age of this country.
According to what I here found at Cape Flora, it ap-
peared as if a great part at least of this basalt dated from
the Jurassic period, as it lay immediately above, and was
partly intermixed with, strata of this age. Moreover, on
the top of the basalt, as will presently appear, vegetable
fossils were found dating from the later part of the
Jurassic period. It thus seems as though Franz Josef
Land were of a comparatively old formation. All these
horizontal strata of basalt, stretching over all the islands
at about the same height, seem to indicate that there was
once a continuous mass of land here, which in the course
of time, being exposed to various disintegrating forces,
such as frost, damp, snow, glaciers, and the sea, has been
split up and worn away, and has in part disappeared
under the sea, so that now only scattered islands and
rocks remain, separated from each other by fjords and
sounds. As these formations bear a certain resemblance
to what has been found in several places in Spitzbergen
556 FARTHEST NORTH
and Northeast Land, we may plausibly assume that these
two groups of islands originally belonged to the same mass
of land. It would therefore be interesting to investigate
the as yet unknown region which separates them, the
region which we should have had to traverse had we not
fallen in with Jackson and his expedition. There is doubt-
less much that is new, and especially many new islands,
to be found in this strait — possibly a continuous series
of islands, so that there may be some difficulty in de-
termining where the one archipelago ends and the other
begins. The investigation of this region is a problem
of no small scientific importance, which we may hope
that the Jackson-Harmsworth expedition will succeed in
solving.
How far the Franz Josef Land archipelago stretches
towards the north cannot as yet be determined with
certainty. According to our experience, indeed, it
would seem improbable that there is land of any great
extent in that direction. It is true that Payer, when he
was upon Crown Prince Rudolfs Land, saw Petermann's
Land and Oscar s Land, the first to the north and the
second to the west ; but that Petermann's Land, at any
rate, cannot be of any size seems to be proved by our
observations, since we saw no land at all as we came
southward a good way east of it, and the ice seemed
to drift to the westward practically unimpeded when
we were in its latitude. That King Oscars Land also
cannot be of any great extent seems to me evident
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 557
from what we saw in the course of the winter and
spring, as the wind swept the ice unhindered away
from the land, so that there can scarcely be any
extensive and continuous mass of land to the north or
northwest to keep it back.
It is, perhaps, even more difficult to determine how
far the Franz Josef Land archipelago stretches to the
eastward. From all we saw, I should judge that
Wilczek Land cannot be of any great extent; but
there may nevertheless be new islands farther to the
east. This seems probable, indeed, from the fact that
in June and July, 1895, we remained almost motionless
at about 82° 5' north latitude, in spite of a long con-
tinuance of northerly winds; whence it seemed that
there must be a stretch of land south of us obstructing,
like a long wall, the farther drift of the ice to the south-
ward. But it is useless to discuss this question minutely
here, as it, too, will doubtless be answered authoritative-
ly by the English expedition.
Another feature of Northbrook Island which greatly
interested me was the evidence it presented of changes
in the level of the sea. I have already mentioned that
Jackson s hut lay on an old strand-line or terrace about
from 40 to 50 feet high, but there were also several
other strand-lines, both lower and higher. Thus I found
that Leigh Smith, who also had wintered on this head-
land, had built his hut upon an old strand-line 17 feet
above the sea-level, while at other places I found strand-
558 FARTHEST NORTH
lines at a height of 80 feet. I had already noticed such
strand -lines at different elevations when I first arrived
in the previous autumn at the more northern part of
this region (for example, on Torup s Island). Indeed,
we had lived all winter on such a terrace.
Jackson had found whales' skeletons at several places
about Cape Flora. Close to his hut, for instance, at a
height of 50 feet, there lay the skull of a whale, a bal{B7ia^
possibly a Greenland whale [Balcena mysticetus?). At
a point farther north there lay fragments of a whole
skeleton, probably of the same species. The underjaw
was 18 feet 3 inches long; but these bones lay at an
elevation of not more than 9 feet above the present sea-
level. I also found other indications that the sea must
at a comparatively recent period have risen above these
low strand - terraces. For instance, they were at many
points strewn with mussel-shells. This land, then, seems
to have been subjected to changes of level analogous to
those which have occurred in other northern countries,
of which, as above mentioned, I had also seen indica-
tions on the north coast of Asia.
One day when Mr. Jackson and Dr. Koetlitz were
out on an excursion together they found on a " nunatak,"
or spur of rock, projecting above a glacier on the north
side of Cape Flora, two places which were strewn with
vegetable fossils. This discovery, of course, aroused
my keenest interest, and on July 17th Dr. Koetlitz
and I set out for the spot together. The spur of rock
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD
559
consisted entirely of basalt, at some points showing a
marked columnar structure, and projected in the middle
of the glacier, at a height which 1 estimated at 600 or
700 feet above the sea. Unfortunately, there was no
A STRANGE ROCK OF BASALT
time to measure its elevation exactly. At two points on
the surface of the basalt there was a layer consisting of
innumerable fragments of sandstone. In almost every
one of these impressions were to be found, for the most
part, of the needles and leaves of pine-trees, but also of
small fern-leaves. We picked up as many of these treas-
ures as we could carry, and returned that evening heavily
laden and in high contentment. On a snow-shoe excur-
56o FARTHEST NORTH
sion some days later Johansen also chanced unwittingly
upon the same place, and gathered fossils, which he
brought to me. Since my return home this collection of
vegetable fossils has been examined by Professor Na-
thorst, and it appears that Mr. Jackson and Dr. Koetlitz
have here made an extremely interesting find.
Professor Nathorst writes to me as follows : "In
spite of their very fragmentary condition the vegetable
fossils brought home by you are of great interest, as
they give us our first insight into the plant-world in
regions north of the eightieth degree of latitude during
the latter part of the Jurassic period. The most common
are leaves of a fir-tree (Pinus) which resembles the Pinus
Nordensktoldi (Heer) found in the Jurassic strata of
Spitzbergen, East Siberia, and Japan, but which proba-
bly belongs to a different species. There occur also
narrower leaves of another species, and furthermore
male flowers and fragments of a pine cone * with several
seeds (Figs. 1-3), one of which (Fig. i) suggests the
Pinus Maakiana (Heer) from the Jurassic strata of
Siberia. Among traces of other pine-trees may be
mentioned those of a broad-leaved Taxites, resembling
Taxites gramineus (Heer), specially found in the Jurassic
strata of Spitzbergen and Siberia, which has leaves of
* Leigh Smith had already brought back from Spitzbergen a fossil
cone, which Camithers classified as a Pinus; but he regarded it as belong-
ing to the upper part of the cretaceous system.
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD
561
about the same size as those of the Cephaloiaxus Fortunei,
at present existing in China and Japan. It is interest-
ing, too, to find remains of the genus Feildenia (Figs. 4
and 5), which has as yet been found only in the polar
regions. It was first discovered by Nordenskiold in the
Tertiary strata near Cape Staratschin, on Spitzbergen, in
PLANT FOSSILS
1868, and was described by Heer under the name of
Torellia. It was subsequently found by Feilden in the
Tertiary strata at Discovery Bay, in Grinnell Land,
during the English Polar Expedition of 1875-76; and
Heer now changed the generic name to Feildenia, as
Torell/j. had already been employed as the name of a
mussel. This species has since been found by me in
1882 in the Upper Jurassic strata of Spitzbergen. The
leaves remind one of the leaves of the subspecies nageia
of the existing genus Podocarpus.
"The finest specimens of the whole collection are the
leaves of a small Gingko, of which one is complete (Fig.
6). This genus, with plum-Iike seeds and with leaves
562 FARTHEST NORTH
which, unlike those of other pine-trees, have a real leaf-
blade, is found at present, in one single species only,
in Japan, but existed in former times in numerous forms
and in many regions. During the Jurassic period it
flourished especially in East Siberia, and has also been
found on Spitzbergen, in East Greenland (at Scoresby
Sound), and at many places in Europe, etc. During the
Cretaceous and the Tertiary periods it was still found on
the west coast of Greenland at 70** north latitude. The
leaf here reproduced belongs to a new species, which
might be called Gingko polaris^ and which is most closely
related to the G.flabellata (Heer) from the Jurassic strata
of Siberia. It bears a certain habitual resemblance to
Gingko digitata (Lindley and Hutton), particularly as
found in the brown Jurassic strata of England and
Spitzbergen; but its leaves are considerably smaller.
Besides this species, one or two others may also occur
in this collection, as well as fragments of the leaves of
the genus Czekanowskia, related to the Gingko family,
but with narrow leaf-blades resembling pine-needles.
" Ferns are very scantily represented. Such frag-
ments as there are belong to four different types ; but
the species can scarcely be determined. One fragment
belongs to the genus Cladophlebis, common in Jurassic
strata; another suggests the Thyrsopteris, found in the
Jurassic strata of East Siberia and of England; a third
suggests the Onychiopsis characteristic of the Upper Juras-
sic strata. The fourth, again, seems to be closely related
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 563
to the Asple^iium {Petrusckinense\ which Heer has de-
scribed, found in the Siberian Jurassic strata. The speci-
men is remarkable from the fact that the epidermis cells
of the leaf have left a clear impression on the rock.
" With its wealth of pine leaves, its poverty of ferns,
and its lack of Cycadacecp, this Franz Josef Land flora has
somewhat the same character as that of the Upper Juras-
sic flora of Spitzbergen, although the species are some-
what different. Like the Spitzbergen flora, it does not
indicate a particularly genial climate, although doubtless
enormously more so than that of the present day. The
deposits must doubtless have occurred in the neighbor-
hood of a pine forest. So far as the specimens enable
one to judge, the flora seems to belong rather to the
Upper (White) Jurassic system than to the Middle
(Brown) system."
It was undeniably a sudden transition to come straight
from our long inert life in our winter lair, where one's
scientific interests found little enough stimulus, right
into the midst of this scientific oasis, where there was
plenty of opportunity for work, where books and all nec-
essary apparatus were at hand, and where one could em-
ploy one's leisure moments in discussing with men of
similar tastes all sorts of scientific questions connected
with the Arctic zone. In the botanist of the expedition,
Mr. Harry Fisher, I found a man full of the warmest in-
terest in the fauna and flora of the polar regions, and the
564 FARTHEST NORTH
exhaustive investigations which his residence here has
enabled him to make into the plant-life and animal-life
(especially the former) of the locality, both by sea and
land, will certainly augment in a most valuable degree
our knowledge of its biological conditions. I shall not
easily forget the many pleasant talks in which he com-
municated to me his discoveries and observations. They
were all eagerly absorbed by a mind long deprived of
such sustenance. I felt like a piece of parched soil
drinking in rain after a drouth of a whole year.
But other diversions were also available. If my
brain grew fatigued with unwonted labor, I could set
off with Jackson for the top of the moraine to shoot
auks, which swarmed under the basalt walls. They
roosted in hundreds and hundreds on the shelves and
ledges above us ; at other places the kittiwakes brooded
on their nests. It was a refreshing scene of life and
activity. As we stood up there at a height of 500 feet,
and could look far out over the sea, the auks flew in
swarms backward and forward over our heads, and every
now and then we would knock over one or two as
they passed. Every time a gun was fired the report
echoed through all the rocky clefts, and thousands of
birds flew shrieking down from the ledges. It seemed
as though a blast of wind had swept a great dust-cloud
down from the crest above ; but little by little they re-
turned to their nests, many of them meanwhile falling to
our guns. Jackson had here a capital larder, and he made
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD S^S
ample use of it. Almost every day he was up under the
rock shooting auks, which formed a daily dish at dinner.
In the autumn great stores of them were laid in to last
through the winter. At other times Jackson and Blom-
KITTIWAKE ON HER NEST
qvist would go up and gather eggs. They dragged a
ladder up with them, and by its aid Jackson clambered
up the perpendicular cliffs. This egg-hunting among the
loose basalt cliffs, where the stones were perpetually slip-
ping away from under one, appeared to me such dare-
devil work that I was chary in taking part in it. Far be
it from me to deny, however, that the eggs made delicious
eating, whether we had them soft-boiled for breakfast or
S66 FARTHEST NORTH
made into pancakes for dinner. It was remarkable how
entirely I had got out of training for climbing in precipi-
tous places. I well remember that the first time I went
up the moraine with Jackson I had to stop and take
breath every hundred paces or so. This was, no doubt,
due to our long inactivity ; perhaps, too, I had become
somewhat anaemic during the winter in our lair. But
there was more than that in it ; the very height and steep-
ness made me uneasy ; I was inclined to turn dizzy, and
had great difficulty in coming down again, preferring, if
possible, simply to sit down and slide. After a while
this passed off a little, and I became more accustomed to
the heights again. I also became less short-winded, and
at last I could climb almost like a normal human being.
In the meantime the days wore on, and still we saw
nothing of the Windward. Johansen and I began to
get a little impatient. We discussed the possibility that
the ship might not make its way through the ice, and
that we should have to winter here, after all. This
idea was not particularly attractive to us — to be so near
home and yet not to reach home. We regretted that
we had not at once pushed on for Spitzbergen; per-
haps we should by this time have reached the much-
talked-of sloop. When we came to think of it, why on
earth had we stopped here ? That was easily explained.
These people were so kind and hospitable to us that
it would have been more than Spartan had we been
able to resist their amiability. And then we had gone
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 5^7
BASALTIC CLIFFS
through a good deal before we arrived, and here was a
warm, cozy nest, where we had nothing to do but to sit
down and wait. Waiting, however, is not always the
easiest of work, and we began seriously to think of set-
ting off again for Spitzbergen. But had we not delayed
$68 FARTHEST NORTH
too long? It was the middle of July, and although we
should probably get on quickly enough, we might meet
with unexpected impediments, and it might take us a
month or more to reach the waters in which we could
hope to find a ship. That would bring us to the middle
or perhaps to the end of August, by which time the
sloops had begun to make for home. If we did not
come across one at once, when we got into September
it would be difficult enough to get hold of one, and then
we should perhaps be in for another winter of it, after
all. No, it was best to remain here, for there was every
chance that the ship would make its appearance. The
best time for navigating these waters is August and the
beginning of September, when there is generally the
least ice. We must trust to that, and let the time pass
as best it might. There were others than we who
waited impatiently for the ship. Four members of the
English expedition were also to go home in her, after
two years' absence.
" Monday, July 20th. We begin to get more and
more impatient for the arrival of the vessel, but the ice
is still tolerably thick here. Jackson says that she should
have been here by the middle of June, and thinks that
there has several times been sufficiently open water for
her to have got through ; but I have my doubts about
that. Though only a little scattered ice is to be seen
here, even from a height of 500 feet, that does not mean
much ; there may be more ice farther south blocking
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 5^9
the way. One day Jackson and the doctor were on the
top of the mountain here, and from that point, too, there
seemed to be very little ice in the south ; but I am not
convinced any the more. I think all experience goes to
show that there must still be plenty of ice in the sea to
the south. What Mr. Jackson says about the Windward
MR. JACKSON AT ELMWOOD
having been able to get through as early as July last
year without needing to touch the ice, adding that then,
too, there was no ice to be seen from here, I do not find
at all conclusive. During the last few days more ice
has again come drifting in from the east. I long to
get away. What if we are shut in here all the winter?
570 FARTHEST NORTH
Then we shall have done wrong in stopping here. Why
did we not continue our journey to Spitzbergen? We
should have been at home by now. The eye wanders
out over the boundless white plain. Not one dark
streak of water — ice, ice I — shut out from the world,
from the throbbing life, the life that we believed to be
so near.
" Low down on the horizon there is a strip of blue-
gray cloud. Far, far away beyond the ice there is open
water, and perhaps there, rocked on long swelling billows
from the great ocean, lies the vessel which is to bear us
to the familiar shores, the vessel which brings tidings
from home and from those we love.
" Dream, dream of home and beauty 1 Stray bird,
here among the ice and snow you will seek for them all
in vain. Dream the golden dream of future reunion I
"Tuesday, July 21st. Have at last got a good wind
from the north which is sending the ice out to sea.
There is nothing but open sea to be seen this evening;
now perhaps there is hope of soon seeing the vessel,
"Wednesday, July 22d. Continual changes and con-
tinual disappointments. Yesterday hope was strong;
to-day the wind has changed to the southeast, and
driven the ice in again. We may still have to wait a
long time.
"Sunday, July 26th. The vessel has come at last. I
was awakened this morning by feeling some one pull my
legs. It was Jackson, who, with beaming countenance.
JOHANSEN IN JACKSON S SALOON
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 573
announced that the Wi7idward had come. I jumped up
and looked out of the window. There she was, just be-
yond the edge of the ice, steaming slowly in to find an
anchorage. Wonderful to see a ship again ! How high
the rigging seemed, and the hull ! It was like an island.
There would be tidings on board from the great world
far beyond."
There was a great stir. Every man was up, arrayed in
the most wonderful costumes, to gaze out of the window.
Jackson and Blomqvist rushed of¥ as soon as they had
got on their clothes. As I scarcely had anything to do
on board at present I went to bed again, but it was not
long before Blomqvist came panting back, sent by the
thoughtful Jackson, to say that all was well at home, and
that nothing had been heard of the Fram. This was the
first thing Jackson had asked about. I felt my heart
as light as a feather. He said, too, that when Jackson
had told the men who had come to meet him on the ice
about us and our journey, they had greeted the intelli-
gence with three hearty cheers.
I had hardly slept two hours that night, and not much
more the night before. I tried to sleep, but there was
no rest to be had; I might just as well dress and go on
board. As I drew near the vessel I was greeted with
ringing cheers by the whole crew gathered on the deck,
where I was heartily received by the excellent Captain
Brown, commander of the Windward ; by Dr. Bruce and
Mr. Wilton, who were both to winter with Jackson,
574 FARTHEST NORTH
and by the ship's company. We went below into the
roomy, snug cabin, and all kinds of news were eagerly
swallowed by listening ears, while an excellent breakfast
with fresh potatoes and other delicacies glided down past
a palate which needed less than that to satisfy it There
were remarkable pieces of news indeed. One of the first
was that now they could photograph people through
doors several inches thick, I confess I pricked up my
ears at this information. That they could photograph
a bullet buried in a person's body was wonderful too,
but nothing to this. And then we heard that the
Japanese had thrashed the Chinese, and a good deal
more. Not least remarkable, we thought, was the in-
terest which the whole world now seemed to take in
the Arctic regions. Spitzbergen had become a tour-
ist country ; a Norwegian steamship company (the
Vesteraalen) had started a regular passenger service
to it,* a hotel had been built up there, and there was
a post-office and a Spitzbergen stamp. And then we
heard that Andree was there waiting for wind to go to
the Pole in a balloon. If we had pursued our course to
Spitzbergen we should thus have dropped into the very
middle of all this. We should have found a hotel and
tourists, and should have been brought home in a com-
fortable modern steamboat, very different from the whal-
ing-sloop we had been talking of all the winter, and,
* I did not dream that Sverdrup a year after would be in command of
this steamer.
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 575
indeed, all the previous year. People are apt to think
that it would be amusing to see themselves, and I form
no exception to this rule. I would have given a good
deal to see us in our unwashed, unsophisticated condition,
as we came out of our winter lair, plumping into the
middle of a band of English tourists, male and female.
I doubt whether there would then have been much em-
bracing or shaking of hands, but I don't doubt that there
would have been a great deal of peering through venti-
lators or any other loophole that could have been found.
The Windward had left London on June 9th, and
Vardo on the 25th. They had brought four reindeer
with them for Jackson, but no horses, as he had expected.*
One reindeer had died on the voyage.
Every one was now busily employed in unlading the
Windwardy and bringing to land the supplies of pro-
visions, coal, reindeer-moss, and other such things which
it had brought for the expedition. Both the ship's crew
and the members of the English expedition took part in
this work, which proceeded rapidly, and had soon made
a level road over the uneven ice ; and now load after load
was driven on sledges to land. In less than a week Cap-
tain Brown was ready to start for home, and only awaited
Jackson's letters and telegrams. They took a few more
days, and then everything was ready. In the meantime.
* Jackson had brought with him several Russian horses, which he had
used along with dogs on his sledge expeditions. Only one of these horses
was alive at the time of our arrival.
576 FARTHEST NORTH
however, a gale had sprung up, blowing on the shore,
the Windward's moorings at the edge of the ice had
given way, she was set adrift and obliged to seek a haven
farther in, where, however, it was so shallow that there
was only one or two feet of water beneath her keel.
Meanwhile, the wind drove the ice in, the navigable
water closed in all round it outside, and the floes were
continually drawing nearer. For a time the situation
looked anything but pleasant ; but fortunately the ice did
not reach the vessel, and she thus escaped being screwed
out of the water. After a delay of a couple of days on
this account the vessel got out again.
And now we were to bid adieu to this last station
on our route, where we had met with such a cordial
and hospitable reception. A feverish energy came over
the little colony. Those who were going home had to
make themselves ready for the voyage, and those who
were to remain had to bring their letters and other
things on board. This, however, was sufficiently diffi-
cult. The vessel lay waiting impatiently and incessant-
ly sounding her steam-whistle ; and a quantity of loose
ice had packed itself together outside the edge of the
shore - ice, so that it was not easy to move. At last,
however, those who were to remain had gone on shore,
and we who were going home were all on board — that
is to say, Mr. Fisher, the botanist; Mr. Child, the chemist;
Mr. Burgess; and the Finn, Blomqvist, of the English
expedition, along with Johansen and myself. As the
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 577
sun burst through the clouds above Cape Flora we
waved our hats, and sent our last cheer as a farewell to
the six men standing like a little dark spot on the floe
in that great icy solitude; and under full sail and steam
we set out on August 7th, with a fair wind, over the un-
dulating surface of the ocean, towards the south.
Fortune favored us. On her northward voyage the
Windward had much and difficult ice to combat with
CAPE FLORA. FAREWELL TO FRANZ JOSEF LAND
before she at last broke through and came in to land.
Now, too, we met a quantity of ice, but it was slack and
comparatively easy to get through. We were stopped
in a few places, and had to break a way through
578 FARTHEST NORTH
with the engine; but the ship was in good hands.
From his long experience as a whaler, Captain Brown
knew A^ell how to contend with greater odds than the
thin ice we met with here — the only ice that is found in
this sea. From morning till night he sat up in the crow's-
nest as long as there was a bit of ice in the water. He
gave himself little time for sleep; the point was, as he
often said to me, to bring us home before the Fram
arrived, for he understood well what a blow it would give
to those near and dear to us if she got home before us.
Thanks to him, we had as short and pleasant a home-
ward voyage as few, if any, can have had from these in-
hospitable regions, where we had spent three years. From
the moment we set foot on deck, he did everything to
make us comfortable and at home on board, and we spent
many a pleasant hour together, which will never be for-
gotten by either of us. But it was not only the captain
who treated us in this way. Every man of the excellent
crew showed us kindness and goodwill in every way. I
cannot think of them — of the little steward, for instance,
when he popped his head into the cabin to ask what
he could get for us, or wakened me in the morning
with his cheery voice, or sang his songs for us — without
a feeling of unspeakable well-being and happiness.
Then, too, we were continually drawing nearer home;
we could count the days and hours that must pass before
we could reach a Norwegian port and be once more in
communication with the world.
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 579
From the experience he had had on the northward
voyage, Captain Brown had come to the conclusion that
he would find his way out of the ice most easilij^ by first
steering in a southeasterly direction towards Novaya
Zemlya, which he thought would be the nearest way to
the open sea. This proved also to be exactly the case.
After having gone about 220 knots through the ice, we
came into the open sea at the end of a long bay, which
ran northward into the ice. It was just at the right
spot ; had we been a little farther east or a little farther
west, we might have spent as many weeks drifting about
in the ice as we now spent days in it. Once more we
saw the blue ocean itself in front of us, and we shaped
our course straight for Vardo. It was an indescribably
delightful feeling once more to gaze over the blue ex-
panse, as we paced up and down the deck, and were day
by day carried nearer home. One morning, as we stood
looking over the sea, our gaze was arrested by some-
thing ; what could that be on the horizon ? We ran on
to the bridge and looked through the glass. The first
sail. Fancy being once more in waters where other
people went to and fro ! But it was far away ; we could
not go to it. Then we saw more, and later in the day four
great monsters ahead. They were British men-of-war,
probably on their way home after having been at Vadso for
the eclipse of the sun, which was to have taken place on
August 9th. Later in the evening (August 12th) I saw
something dark ahead, low down on the horizon. What
58o FARTHEST NORTH
was it ? I saw it on the starboard bow, stretching low
and even towards the south. I looked again and again.
It was land, it was Norway! I stood as if turned to
stone, and gazed and gazed out into the night at this
"WE STOOD LOOKING OVER THE SEA
same dark line, and fear began to tremble in my breast.
What were the tidings that awaited me there ?
When I came on deck next morning we were close
under the land. It was a bare and naked shore we had
come up to, scarcely more inviting than the land we had
left up in the mist of the Arctic Ocean — but it was Nor-
way. The captain had mistaken the coast in the night
and had come in too far north, and we were still to have
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 581
some labor in beating down against wind and sea before
we could reach Vardo. We passed several vessels, and
dipped our flag to them. We passed the revenue-cutter;
she came alongside, but they had nothing to do there,
and no one came on board. Then came pilots, father
and son. They greeted Brown, but were not prepared
to meet a countryman on board an English vessel. They
were a little surprised to hear me speak Norwegian, but
did not pay much attention to it. But when Brown
asked them if they knew who I was, the old man gazed
at me again, and a gleam, as it were, of a possible recog-
nition crept over his face. But when the name Nansen
dropped from the lips of the warm-hearted Brown, as he
took the old man by the shoulders and shook him in his
delight at being able to give him such news, an expres-
sion came into the old pilot's weather-beaten face, a mixt-
ure of joy and petrified astonishment, which was inde-
scribable. He seized my hand, and wished me welcome
back to life; the people here at home had long ago laid
me in my grave. And then came questions as to news
from the expedition, and news from home. Nothing had
yet been heard of the Fram, and a load was lifted from
my breast when I knew that those at home had been
spared that anxiety.
Then, silently and unobserved, the Windward glided
with colors flying into Vardo Haven. Before the anchor
was dropped, I was in a boat with Johansen on our way
to the telegraph-station. We put in at the quay, but
^^•* FARTHEST NORTH
there was still so much of our former piratical appearance
left that no one recognized us; they scarcely looked at
us, and the only being that took any notice of the re-
turned wanderers was an intelligent cow, which stopped
in the middle of a narrow street and stared at us in aston-
ishment as we tried to pass. That cow was so delight-
fully summery to look at that I felt inclined to go up and
pat her; I felt now that I really w^as in Norway. When
I got to the telegraph -station I laid a huge bundle down
on the counter, and said that it consisted of telegrams
that I should like to have sent as soon as possible. There
were nearly a hundred of them, one or two rather long, of
about a thousand words each.
The head of the telegraph-office looked hard at me,
and quietly took up the bundle; but as his eye fell upon
the signature of the telegram that lay on the top, his
face suddenly changed, he wheeled sharp round, and
went over to the lady clerk who was sitting at the table.
When he again turned and came towards me his face was
radiant, and he bade me a hearty welcome. The tele-
grams should be despatched as quickly as possible, he said;
but it would take several days and nights to get them
all through. And then the instrument began to tick and
tick and to send through the country and the world the
news that two members of the Norwegian Polar Expedi-
tion had returned safe and sound, and that I expected
the Fram home in the course of the autumn. I pitied
the four young ladies in the telegraph - office at Vardo ;
TH^ JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 5^3
they had hard work of it during the following days.
Not only had all my telegrams to be despatched, but
hundreds streamed in from the south — both to us and
to the people in the town, begging them to obtain in-
formation about us. Among the first were telegrams to
my wife, to the King of Norway, and to the Norwegian
Government. The last ran as follows :
" To his Excellency Secretary Hagerup :
" I have the pleasure of announcing to you and to the
Norwegian Government that the expedition has carried
out its plan, has traversed the unknown Polar Sea from
north of the New Siberian Islands, and has explored the
region north of Franz Josef Land as far as 86° 14 north
latitude. No land was seen north of 82°.
" Lieutenant Johansen and I left the Fram, and the
other members of the expedition on March 14, 1895,
in 84° north latitude and 102° 27' east longitude. We
went northward to explore the sea north of the Frams
course, and then came south to Franz Josef Land,
whence the Windward has now brought us.
" I expect the Fram to return this year.
" Fridtjof Nansen."
As I was leaving the telegraph - office the manager
told me that my friend Professor Mohn was in the town,
staying, he understood, at the hotel. Strange that Mohn,
a man so intimately connected with the expedition,
584 FARTHEST NORTH
should be the first friend I was to meet! Even while
we were handing in our telegrams the news of our
arrival had begun to filter through the town, and
people were gradually flocking together to see the
two polar bears who strode through the streets to
the hotel. I rushed in and inquired for Mohn. He
was in his room, number so • and - so, they told me,
but he was taking his siesta. I had no respect for
siestas at that moment; I thundered at the door and
tore it open. There lay Mohn on the sofa, reading,
with a long pipe in his mouth. He started up and
stared fixedly, like a madman, at the long figure standing
on the threshold ; his pipe fell to the ground, his face
twitched, and then he burst out, " Can it be true ? Is
it Fridtjof Nansen.'^" I believe he was alarmed about
himself, thinking he had seen an apparition ; but when
he heard my well-known voice the tears came to his
eyes, and, crying, " Thank God, you're still alive !" he
rushed into my arms. Then came Johansen's turn. It
was a moment of wild rejoicing, and numberless were
the questions asked and answered on both sides. As
one thing after another came into our heads, the ques-
tions rained around without coherence and almost with-
out meaning. The whole thing seemed so incredible
that a long time passed before we even collected our-
selves sufficiently to sit down, and I could tell him in a
somewhat more connected fashion what experiences we
had gone through during these three years. But where
j THE JO URNE Y SO UTHWARD 5 8 5
was the Fram? Had we left her? Where were the oth-
ers? Was anything amiss? These questions poured
■ forth with breathless anxiety, and it was no doubt the
I hardest thing of all to understand that there was nothing
I amiss, and yet that we had left our splendid ship. But
{ little by little even that became comprehensible ; and then
J all was rejoicing, and champagne and cigars presently
appeared on the scene. Another acquaintance from the
south was also in the hotel ; he came in to speak to
Mohn ; but, seeing that he had visitors, was on the point
of going again. Then he stopped, stared at us, discov-
ered who the visitors were, and stood as though nailed to
the spot ; and then we all drank to the expedition and to
Norway. It was clear that we must stop there that even-
ing, and we sat the whole afternoon talking and talk-
ing without a pause. But meanwhile the whole town had
learnt the names of its newly arrived guests, and when we
looked out of the window the street was full of people,
and from all the flagstaffs over the town, and from all the
masts in the harbor, the Norwegian flag waved in the
evening sunshine. And then came telegrams in torrents,
all of them bringing good news. Now all our troubles
were over. Only the arrival of the Fram was wanting to
complete things; but we were quite at ease about her;
she would soon turn up. The first thing we had to do,
now that we were on Norwegian soil and could look
about us a little, was to replenish our wardrobe. But it
was now no joke to make our way through the streets,
586 FARTHEST NORTH
and if we went into a shop it was soon overflowing with
people.
Thus we spent some never-to-be-forgotten days in
Vardo, and the hospitality which we met was lavish
and cordial. After we had said good-bye to our hosts
on board the Windward and thanked them for all the
kindness they had shown us, Captain Brown weighed
anchor on the morning of Sunday, the i6th, to go on to
Hammerfest. He wanted to pay his respects to my wife,
who was to meet us there. On August 21st Johansen
and I arrived at Hammerfest. Everywhere on the way
people had greeted us with flowers and flags, and now,
as we sailed into its harbor, the northernmost town in
Norway was in festal array from the sea to the highest
hilltop, and thousands of people were afoot. To niy
surprise, I also met here my old friend Sir George
Baden-Powell, whose fine yacht, the Otaria, was in the
harbor. He had just returned from a very successful
scientific expedition to Novaya Zemlya, where he had
been with several English astronomers to observe the
solar eclipse of August 9th. With true English hospi-
tality, he placed his yacht entirely at my disposal and I
willingly accepted his generous invitation. Sir George
Baden-Powell was one of the last people I had seen in
England. When we parted — it was in the autumn of
1892 — he asked me where we ought to be looked for
if we were too long away. I answered that it would
be of little use to look for us — it would be like
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD
S87
searching for a needle in a hay-stack. He told me I
must not think that people would be content to sit still
and do nothing. In England, at any rate, he was sure
that something would be done — and where ought they
to go ? " Well," I replied, " I can scarcely think of any
ARRIVAL AT HAMMERFEST
Other place than Franz Josef Land; for if the Fram
goes to the bottom, or we are obliged to abandon her,
we must come out that way. If the Fram does not go
to the bottom, and the drift is as I believe it to be,
we shall reach the open sea between Spitzbergen and
Greenland." Sir George now thought that the time had
come to look for us, and since he could not do more for
588 FARTHEST NORTH
the present, it was his intention, after having carried out
his expedition to Novaya Zemlya, to skirt along the edge
of the ice, and see if he could not pick up any news
of us. Then, just at the right moment, we made our
appearance at Hammerfest. In the evening, my wife
arrived, and my secretary, Christofersen ; and after hav-
ing attended a brilliant fete given that night by the
town of Hammerfest in our honor, we took up our quar-
ters on board the Otaria, where the days now glided
past so smoothly that we scarcely noticed the lapse of
time. Telegrams of congratulation, and testimonies of
goodwill and hearty rejoicing, arrived in an unbroken
stream from all quarters of the world.
But the Fram? I had telegraphed confidently that
I expected her home this year; but why had she not
already arrived } I began more and more to think over
this, and the more I calculated all chances and possibili-
ties, the more firmly was I convinced that she ought to
be out of the ice by this time if nothing had gone amiss.
It was strange that she was not already here, and I
thought with horror that if the autumn should pass with-
out news of her, the coming winter and summer would
be anything but pleasant.
Just as I had turned out on the morning of August
20th, Sir George knocked at my door and said there was
a man there who insisted on speaking to me. I an-
swered that I wasn't dressed yet, but that I would come
immediately. " Oh, that doesn't matter," said he ; " come
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 5^9
as you are." I was a little surprised at all this urgency,
and asked what it was all about. He said he did not
know, but it was evidently something pressing. I never-
theless put on my clothes, and then went out into the
saloon. There stood a gentleman with a telegram in
his hand, who introduced himself as the head of the tele-
graph-office, and said that he had a telegram to deliver
to me which he thought would interest me, so he had
come with it himself. Something that would interest
me? There was only one thing left in the world that
could really interest me. With trembling hands I tore
open the telegram :
" Fridtjof Nansen :
" Fram arrived in good condition. All well on board.
Shall start at once for Tromso. Welcome home!
" Otto Sverdrup."
I felt as if I should have choked, and all I could say
was, " The Fram has arrived !" Sir George, who was
standing by, gave a great leap of joy; Johansen's face
was radiant; Christofersen was quite overcome with glad-
ness ; and there in the midst of us stood the head of the
telegraph - office enjoying the effect he had produced.
In an instant I dashed into my cabin to shout to my wife
that the Fram had arrived. She was dressed and out in
double-quick time. But I could scarcely believe it — it
seemed like a fairy tale. I read the telegram again and
590 FARTHEST NORTH
again before I could assure myself that it was not all a
dream ; and then there came a strange, serene happiness
over my mind such as I had never known before.
There was jubilation on board and over all the harbor
and town. From the Windivard, which was just weigh-
ing anchor to precede us to Tromso, we heard ringing
cheers for the Fram and the Norwegian flag. We had
intended to start for Tromso that afternoon, but now we
agreed to get under way as quickly as possible, so as
to try to overtake the Fram at Skjaervo, which lay just
on our route. I attempted to stop her by a telegram
to Sverdrup, but it arrived too late.
It was a lively breakfast we had that morning. Jo-
hansen and I spoke of how incredible it seemed that
we should soon press our comrades' hands again. Sir
George was almost beside himself with joy. Every now
and then he would spring up from his chair, thump the
table, and cry, " The Fram has arrived ! The Fram
has really arrived!" Lady Baden -Powell was quietly
happy ; she enjoyed our joy.
The next day we entered Tromso harbor, and there
lay the Fram, strong and broad and weather-beaten. It
was strange to see again that high rigging and the hull
we knew so well. When last we saw her she was half
buried in the ice ; now she floated freely and proudly on
the blue sea, in Norwegian waters. We glided alongside
of her. The crew of the Otaria greeted the gallant ship
with three times three English cheers, and the Fram
'WINDWARD LEAVING TROMSO
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 593
replied with a ninefold Norwegian hurrah. We dropped
our anchor, and the next moment the Otaria was boarded
by the Frams sturdy crew.
The meeting which followed I shall not attempt to
describe. I don't think any of us knew anything clearly,
except that we were all together again — we were in Nor-
way— and the expedition had fulfilled its task.
Then we set off together southward along the Nor-
wegian coast. First came the tug Haalogaland, char-
tered by the government; then the Fram, heavy and
slow, but so much the surer ; and last the elegant Otaria^
with my wife and me on board — which was to take us to
Trondhjem. What a blessed sensation it was to sit in
peace at last, and see others take the lead and pick out
the way !
Wherever we passed, the heart of the Norwegian peo-
ple went out to us, from the steamers crowded with holi-
day-making townsfolk, and from the poorest fishing-boat
that lay alone among the skerries. It seemed as if old
Mother Norway were proud of us, as if she pressed us in
a close and warm embrace, and thanked us for what we
had done. And what was it, after all } We had only
done our duty ; we had simply accomplished the task we
had undertaken ; and it was we who owed her thanks for
the right to sail under her flag. I remember one morn-
ing in particular. It was in Bronosund — the morning
was still gray and chill when I was called up — there were
so many people who wanted to greet us. I was half
II.— 38
594 FARTHEST NORTH
asleep when I came on deck. The whole sound was
crowded with boats. We had been going slowly
through them, but now the Haalogaland in front put on
more speed, and we too went a little quicker. A fisher-
man in his boat toiled at the oars to keep up with us ; it
was no easy work. Then he shouted up to me :
" You don't want to buy any fish, do you ?"
" No, I don't think we do."
" I suppose you can't tell me where Nansen is.? Is he
on board the Fram /"
" No, I believe he's on board this ship," was the reply.
" Oh, I wonder if I couldn't get on board ? I'm so
desperately anxious to see him."
" It can hardly be done, I'm afraid; they haven't time
to stop now."
" That's a pity. I want to see the man himself."
He went on rowing. It became harder and harder to
keep up, but he stared fixedly at me as I leaned on the
rail smiling, while Christofersen stood laughing at my
side.
" Since you're so anxious to see the man himself, I
may tell you that you see him now," said I.
" Is it you } Is it you ? Didn't I guess as much !
Welcome home again !"
And thereupon the fisherman dropped his oars, stood
up in his boat, and took off his cap. As we went on
through the splendor of the morning, and I sat on the
deck of the luxurious English yacht and saw the beauti-
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD 595
ful barren coast stretching ahead in the sunshine, I re-
alized to the full for the first time how near this land
and this people lay to my heart. If we had sent a single
gleam of sunlight over their lives, these three years had
not been wasted.
" This Norway, this Norway . .
It is dear to us, so dear.
And no people has a fairer land than this our homeland here.
Oh, the shepherding in spring,
When the birds begin to sing.
When the mountain-peak glitters and green grows the lea.
And the turbulent river sweeps brown to the sea ! . . .
Whoso knows Norway must well understand
How her sons can suffer for such a land."
One felt all the vitality and vigor throbbing in this
people, and saw as in a vision its great and rich future,
when all its prisoned forces shall be unfettered and set
free.
Now one had returned to life, and it stretched before
one full of light and hope. Then came the evenings
when the sun sank far out behind the blue sea, and the
clear melancholy of autumn lay over the face of the wa-
ters. It was too beautiful to believe in. A feeling of
dread came over one ; but the silhouette of a woman's
form, standing out against the glow of the evening sky,
gave peace and security.
So we passed from town to town, from fete to fete,
along the coast of Norway. It was on September 9th
that the Fram steamed up Christiania Fjord and met
596 FARTHEST NORTH
with such a reception as a prince might have envied.
The stout old men-of-war Nordstjernen and Elida, the
new and elegant Valkyrie, and the nimble little torpedo-
boats led the way for us. Steamboats swarmed around,
all black with people. There were flags high and low,
salutes, hurrahs, waving of handkerchiefs and hats, ra-
diant faces everywhere, the whole fjord one multitudi-
nous welcome. There lay home, and the well-known
strand before it, glittering and smiling in the sun-
shine. Then steamers on steamers again, shouts after
shouts ; and we all stood, hat in hand, bowing as they
cheered.
The whole of Peppervik was one mass of boats and
people and flags and waving pennants. Then the men-
of - war saluted with thirteen guns apiece, and the old
fort of Akershus followed with its thirteen peals of
thunder, that echoed from the hills around.
In the evening I stood on the strand out by the fjord.
The echoes had died away, and the pine woods stood
silent and dark around. On the headland the last em-
bers of a bonfire of welcome still smouldered and
smoked, and the sea rippling at my feet seemed to
whisper, " Now you are at home." The deep peace of
the autumn evening sank beneficently over the weary
spirit.
I could not but recall that rainy morning in June when
I last set foot on this strand. More than three years
had passed ; we had toiled and we had sown, and now
THE JOURNEY SOUTHWARD
597
the harvest had come. In my heart I sobbed and wept
for joy and thankfulness.
The ice and the long moonlit polar nights, with all
their yearning, seemed like a far-off dream from another
world — a dream that had come and passed away. But
what would life be worth without its dreams?
The Mean Temperature of Every Month during Nansen
AND JOHANSEN'S SlEDGE JoURNEY
Mkan
Date
Temperature
Maximum
Minimum
•
(Fahr.)
0
0
0
March (16-31), 1895 . .
-37
-9
-51
April, 1895
— 20
— 2
-35
May, 1895 . . ,
-24
28
— II
June, 1895 . . .
July, 1895 . .
30
38
9
32
37
28
August, 1895 .
29
36
19
September, 1895
-|- 20
41
— 4
October, 1895 . .
— I
16
— 13
November, 1895 ■
— 13
10
— 35
December, 1895
— 13
12
-37
January, 1896 . .
February, 1896
— 14
"9
-46
— 10
30
— 40
March, 1896
10
30
— 29
April, 1896 . . .
8
27
-16
May, 1896 . .
18
43
— II
June (1-16), 1896 ....
29
39
23
APPENDIX
REPORT OF CAPTAIN OTTO SVERDRUP
ON
THE DRIFTING OF THE "FRAM" FROM MARCH 14, 1895
CHAPTER I
March 15 to June 22, 1895
As far back as February 26th Dr. Nansen had officially in-
formed the crew that after he left the ship I was to be chief
officer of the expedition, and Lieutenant Scott-Hansen second
in command. Before starting, he handed me a letter, or set of
instructions, which have been mentioned earlier in the volume.*
The day after that on which the postscript to my instruc-
tions is dated — />., on Thursday, March 14th, at 11.30 A.M. —
Dr. Nansen and Johansen left the Fram and set forth on their
sledge expedition. We gave them a parting salute with flag,
pennant, and guns. Scott-Hansen, Henriksen, and Pettersen
accompanied them as far as the first camping-place, 7 or 8 miles
from the vessd, and returned the next day at 2.30 P.M.
In the morning they had helped to harness the dogs and
put them to the three sledges. In the team of the last sledge
there were **Barnet" and ** Pan,*' who all the time had been
mortal enemies.f They began to fight, and Henriksen had to
* Vide pp. 91-98. Vol. II.
t Little *' Barnet," who weighed only 38 pounds, and was one of the
smallest of the dogs, was a regular lighter, and, as a rule, the aggressor.
6o2 APPENDIX
give " Barnet " a good thrashing in order to part him from the
other. In consequence of this fight the last team was some-
what behind in starting. The other dogs were all the while
hauling with all their might, and when the thrashing scene was
over, and the disturbers of the peace suddenly commenced to
pull, the sledge started off faster than Johansen had calculated,
and he was left behind and had to strike out well on his snow-
shoes. Scott -Hansen and the others followed the sledging
party with their eyes until they looked like little black dots
far, far away on the boundless plain of ice. With a last sad
lingering look after the two whom, perhaps, they might never
see again, they put on their snow-shoes and started on their
journey back.
At the time when the sledge expedition started the Frant lay
in 84*^ 4' north latitude and 102° east longitude. The situation
was briefly as follows : The vessel was ice-bound in about 25
feet of ice, with a slight list to starboard. She had thus a layer
of ice, several feet in thickness, underneath her keel. Piled high
against the vessel's side, to port, along her entire length, there
extended from S.S.E. to N.N.W. a pressure-ridge reaching up
to about the height of the rail on the half-deck aft and slanting
slightly eastward from the ship. At a distance of about 160
yards to the northwest there extended in the direction from
south to north a long and fairly broad ice-mound, the so-called
" great hummock,'* as much as 22 feet high in places. Mid-
way between the Fram and the great hummock there was a
newly formed open lane about 50 yards wide, while across her
bow, at a distance of 50 yards, there was an old channel that
had been closed up by the ice-pressure, but which opened later
on in the spring.
Upon the " great hummock," which had been formed by the
violent ice-pressure on January 27, 1894, we had established our
depot on the slope looking towards the ship. The depot con-
sisted of piled-up tin boxes, containing provisions and other
necessaries, and formed six or seven small mounds covered with
sail-cloth. Moreover, our snow-shoes and sledges were stored
there. Half-way between the vessel and the great hummock
*"■
MARCH 13 TO JUNE 22, 1895 605
lay the petroleum launch, which, when the new channel or rift
had opened right under her, had to be drawn a little way far-
ther out on to the ice. Finally, there was our forge. This was
situated about 30 yards off, a little abaft the port quarter, and
was hewn out in the slope of the above-mentioned pressure-
ridge, the roof being made of a quantity of spars over which
blocks of ice were piled, with a layer of snow on the top, all
frozen together so as to form a compact mass. A tarpaulin
served in place of a door.
The first and most pressing work which we had to take in
hand was to remove part of the high-pressure ridge on the port
side. I was afraid that if the ice-pressure continued the vessel
might be forced down instead of upward while she had so high
a ridge of ice resting against the whole of her port side. The
work was commenced by all hands on March 19th. We had
five sledges, and a box on each, and each worked by two men.
There were two parties at work simultaneously with one sledge
each — forward, and two parties aft — working towards each other,
while the fifth party, of two men with one sledge, were cutting a
passage 13 feet wide right up to the middle of the vessel. The
layer of ice which was in this way removed from all along the
vessefs side reached to double the height of a man, except in
the central passage, where it had previously been removed to a
depth of about three yards, partly in view of possible ice-press-
ure against this, the lowest part of the hull, and partly in order
to clear the gangway, by which the dogs passed to and from the
vessel.
The carting away of ice commenced on the 19th and con-
cluded on March 27th. The whole of the pressure-ridge on the
port side was removed down to such a depth that two and a
half planks of the ship's ice-skin were free. All the time while
this work was going on the weather was fairly cold, the temper-
ature down to —38° and — 40°C. (—36. 4° and —40° Fahr.). How-
ever, all passed off well and successfully, except that Scott-Hansen
was unfortunate enough to have one of his big toes frozen.
The doctor and I were together at the same sledge. My
diary says: ** He always suspected me of being out of temper.
6o6 APPENDIX
and I him." As a matter of fact, it is my habit to dislike talk-
ing when I am busy with any work, while the reverse is the case
with the doctor. As, according to my custom, I kept silence,
the doctor believed that I was in a bad humor, and in the same
way I fancied that he was in the sulks, because he abstained
from chatting. But the misunderstanding was soon cleared up,
and we laughed heartily at it.
As Dr. Nansen*s and Johansen's departure afforded an op-
portunity for a more comfortable redistribution of quarters, I
moved into Nansen's cabin, after having packed in cases the
effects he left behind, and stowed them away in the fore-hold.
Jacobsen, the mate, who was formerly quartered with four of
the crew in the large cabin on the port side, had my cabin al-
lotted to him; and in the starboard cabin, where four men had
been quartered, there were now only three. The workroom,
too, was restored to its former honor and dignity. The lamp-
glasses of the oil-stove there had got broken in the course of the
year. Amundsen now replaced these with chimneys of tin, and
fitted thin sheets of mica over the peep-holes. The stove having
thus been repaired, the workroom became the busiest and most
comfortable compartment in the whole vessel.
After the various operations of shifting and putting in order
the things on board and in the depot, our next care was to insure
easy and convenient access to the vessel by constructing a proper
gangway aft, consisting of two spars with packing-case planks
nailed between them and a rope hand-rail attached.
When all this was done we set to work at the long and mani-
fold preparations of every kind for a sledge journey southward,
in the event (which, as a matter of fact, none of us considered
likely) of our being obliged to abandon the Fram, We con-
structed sledges and kayaks, sewed bags for our stores, selected
and weighed out provisions and other necessaries, etc., etc. This
work kept us busy for a long time.
In addition to all the other things we had to provide ourselves
with more snow-shoes, as we were scantily supplied with them.
Snow-shoes we must have, good strong ones, at least one pair to
every man. But where were the materials to come from? There
MARCH IS TO JUNE 22, 1895 609
was no more wood fit for making snow-shoes to be found on
board. It is true that we had a large piece of oak timber left
available, but we were in need of a suitable instrument to split
it with, as it could not be cut up with the small saws we had on
board. In our dilemma we had recourse to the ice-saw. Amund-
sen converted it (by filing it in a different way) into a rip-saw ;
Bentzen made handles for it; and as soon as it was ready, Mog-
stad and Henriksen commenced to saw the beam of oak to
pieces. At first the work went slowly, most of the time being
taken up with filing and setting the saw ; but gradually it went
better, and on April 6th the timber was cut up into six pairs of
good boards for making snow-shoes, which we temporarily de-
posited in the saloon for drying. As I consider Canadian snow-
shoes superior to Norwegian snow-shoes, when it is a question of
hauling heavily loaded sledges over such a rough and uneven
surface as is presented by polar ice, I directed Mogstad to make
ten Canadian pairs of maple-wood, of which we had a quantity
on board. Instead of the netting of reindeer-skin we stretched
sail-cloth over the frames. This did the same service as net-
work, while it had the advantage of being easier to repair. With
the snow-shoes which we had we undertook frequent excursions,
more particularly Scott- Hansen and myself. While out on one
of these trips, on which Amundsen, Nordahl, and Pettersen also
accompanied us, 3 miles west of the vessel we came across a
large hummock, which we named " Lovunden," on account of
its resemblance to the island " Lovunden," off the coast of
Heligoland. This hummock presented very good snow-shoeing
slopes, and we practised there to our heart's content.
On May 1st we had finished the snow-shoes intended for
daily use, and I gave orders that, henceforth, daily snow-shoe
trips should be made by all hands from 1 1 A.M. till i P.M., if the
weather was good. These snow-shoe runs were to everybody's
taste, and were necessary, not only in order to afford brisk exer-
cise in the open air, but also in order to impart to those who were
less accustomed to snow-shoes a sufficient degree of skill in the
event of our having to abandon the Fram,
While the removal of the ridge was proceeding there con-
11.-39
6io APPENDIX
tinued to be a good deal of disturbance in the ice. Twenty
yards from the vessel a new lane was formed running parallel to
the old one between us from the depot ; and in addition to this
a number of larger or smaller cracks had opened in all directions.
A little later on, during the time from April 1 1 th to May 9th, there
was on the whole considerable disturbance in the ice, with several
violent pressures in the lanes around the vessel. On the first-
mentioned day, in the evening, Scott-Hansen and I took a snow-
shoe trip towards the northeast, along the new channel between
the vessel and the depot. On our way back pressure set in in
the channel, and we had an opportunity of witnessing a " screw-
ing " such as I had never seen equalled. First there was quite a
narrow channel, running parallel to the principal channel, which
was covered over with young ice about 2 feet thick. There-
upon a larger channel opened just beyond the first and running
alongside it. During the pressure which then followed, the
edges crashed against each other with such violence as to force
the ice down, so that we frequently saw it from 3 to 4 fathoms
deep under water.
Newly frozen sea-ice is marvellously elastic, ajid will bend to
an astonishing degree without breaking. In another place we
saw how the new ice had bulged up in large wave-like emi-
nences, without breaking.
On May 5th the wide lane aft was jammed up by ice-pressure,
and in its stead a rift was formed in the ice on the port side
about 100 yards from us, and approximately parallel to the
ship. Thus we now lay in an altered position, inasmuch as the
Fram was no longer connected with and dependent on one
solid and continuous ice-field, but separated from it by more or
less open channels and attached to a large floe which was daily
decreasing in size as new cracks were formed.
The principal channel aft of the vessel continued to open out
during the latter part of April, and on the 29th had become
very wide. It extended north as far as the eye could reach,
and was conspicuous, moreover, by reason of the dark reflec-
tion which seemed to hover above it in the sky. It probably
attained its maximum width on May 1st, when Scott-Hansen
•i
MARCH 15 TO JUNE 22, i8gs 613
and I measured it and found that just astern of the vessel it was
975 yards, and farther north over 1500 yards (1432 metres) in
width. Had the Fram been loose at the time I should have
gone north in the channel as far as possible ; but this was not to
be thought of, seeing how the ship had been raised up on and
walled in by the ice.
No later than May 2d the principal channel closed up again.
The mate, Nordahl, and Amundsen, who just then happened to
be out on a snow-shoe trip south along the channel, were eye-
witnesses of the jamming of the ice, which they described as
having been a grand sight. The fresh southeasterly wind had
imparted a considerable impetus to the ice, and when the edges
of the ice approached each other with considerable velocity and
force, two large projecting tongues first came into collision with
a crash like thunder, and in a moment were forced up in a hum-
mock about 20 feet high, only to collapse soon after, and disap-
pear with equal suddenness under the edge of the ice. Wher-
ever the ice was not forced up into the air, the one ice-edge
would slide over or under the other, while all the projecting
tongues and blocks of ice were crushed to thousands of frag-
ments, which filled up pretty evenly any small crevices still re-
maining of what had before been such a mighty opening.
Our drift towards the north during the first month was al-
most nil. For instance, on April 19th we had not advanced
more than 4 minutes of latitude (about 4 miles) to the north.
Nor did we drift much to the west in the same period. Later
on we made better headway, but not, by a long way, as much as
in 1894. On May 23d I wrote in the Journal as follows: ** We
are all very anxious to see what will be the net result of our
spring drift. If we could reach 60° east longitude by the sum-
mer or autumn, I believe we could be certain to get back home
about the autumn of 1896. The spring drift this year is con-
siderably less strong than last year, but perhaps it may continue
longer into the summer. If we were to drift this year as far as
last, during the time from May i6th to June i6th, we should reach
68° east longitude, but it will not be possible now to reach that
longitude so early. Possibly we may manage this year to escape
6i4 APPENDIX
the strong back-drift during the summer, make a little headway
instead, and if so it will be all the better for us. The ice is not
so much cut up by channels this year as it was this time last
year. It is true there are a good many ; but last year we could
scarcely get about at all, simply on account of the lanes. This
year we have large sheets of ice ahead of us in which scarcely
any openings are to be found.*'
In order to observe the drift of the ice we prepared a kind of
log-line, from lOO to 150 fathoms in length, to the end of which
there was attached a conical open bag of loosely woven material,
in which small animals could be caught up. Immediately above
the bag a lead was fitted to the line, so that the bag itself might
drag freely in the water. The log was lowered through a fairly
wide hole in the ice, which it was a most difficult task to keep
open during the cold season. Several times a day the line was
examined and the ** angle of drift** was measured. For this
measurement we had constructed a quadrant fitted with a
plumb-line. Now and then we would haul in the log-line to
see whether it was still in order and to collect whatever the bag
might contain in the way of little animals or other objects. As
a rule the contents were insignificant, consisting only of a few
specimens of low organisms.
At the end of May the ** spring drift " was over. The wind
veered round to the S.W., W., and N.W. The back -drift or
"summer drift ** then set in. However, it was not of long dura-
tion, as by June 8th we again had an easterly wind with a good
drift to the west, so that on the 22d we were at 84° 31.7' north
latitude and 80° 58' east longitude ; and during the last days of
June and the greater part of July the drift went still better.
A circumstance which helped to increase the monotony of
our drift in the ice during the winter and spring, 1895, was the
great scarcity of animal life in that part of the Polar Sea. For
long periods at a stretch we did not see a single living thing;
even the polar bears, who roam so far, were not to be seen.
Hence the appearance in the afternoon of May 7th of a small seal
in a newly opened lane, close by the vessel, was hailed with uni-
versal delight. It was the first seal that we had set eyes upon
MARCH 15 TO JUNE 22, 1895 617
since March. Subsequently we often saw seals of the same kind
in the open channels, but they were very shy, so that it was not
until well on in the summer that we succeeded in killing one,
and this was so small that we ate the whole of it at one meal.
On May 14th Pettersen told us that he had seen a white
bird, as he thought an ice-gull, flying westward. On the 22d
Mogstad saw a snow- bunting, which circled round the vessel,
and after this the harbingers of spring became daily more
numerous.
Our hunting- bags, however, were very scanty. It was not
until June loth that we secured the first game, when the doctor
succeeded in shooting a fulmar and a kittiwake {Larus iridac-
tylus). True, he prefaced these exploits by sundry misses, but
in the end he managed to hit the birds, and " all's well that ends
well." As regards the fulmar, it was an exciting chase, as it had
only been winged, and took refuge in the open channel. Petter-
sen was the first to go after it, followed by Amundsen, the
doctor, Scott-Hansen, and the whole pack of dogs, and at last
they managed to secure it.
After this it was a matter of daily occurrence to see birds
quite near, and in order to be better able to secure them, and
seals to boot, we moored our sealing-boat in the open channel.
This was equipped with a sail, and with ballast composed of
some of the castings from the windmill, which we had been
obliged to take down ; and the very first evening after the boat
had been put on the water, Scott-Hansen, Henriksen, and Bent-
zen went for a sail in the channel. The dogs seized this occa-
sion to take some capital exercise. They took it into their
heads to follow the boat along the edge of the channel back-
ward and forward as the boat tacked ; it was stiff work for them
to keep always abreast of it, as they had to make many detours
round small channels and bays in the ice, and when at last they
had got near it, panting, and with their tongues protruding far
from their mouths, the boat would go about, and they had to
cover the same ground over again.
On June 20th the doctor and I shot one black guillemot each.
We also saw some little auks, but the dogs, entering too eagerly
6l8 APPENDIX
into the sport, as a welcome break in the prolonged oppressive
solitude and monotony, rushed ahead of us and scared the birds
away before we could get a shot at them.
As I have already mentioned, the mill had to be taken down.
The shaft broke one fine day below the upper driving-wheel, and
had to be removed and taken to the forge for repair. Pettersen
welded it together again, and on May 9th the mill was again in
sufficiently good order for use. But it wore out ver>' speedily,
more especially in the gearings, so that, after the first week or
two in June, it was almost useless. We therefore pulled it down,
and stowed away all wooden parts and castings on the ridge on
the port side, except portions of hard wood, which we kept on
board, and found very useful for making up into sledge-shafts and
other things.
The weather was good all through March, April, and May,
with mild easterly breezes or calms, and, as a rule, a clear atmos-
phere. Once or twice the wind veered round to the south or
west, but these changes were invariably of short duration. This
settled calm weather at last became quite a trial to us, as it con-
tributed in a great measure to increase the dreariness and monot-
ony of the scene around us, and had a depressing effect on our
spirits. Matters improved a little towards the end of May, when
for a time we had a fresh westerly breeze. To be sure this was
a contrar)' wind, but it was, at any rate, a little change. On
June 8th the wind veered round to the east again, and now in-
creased in strength, so that on Sunday, the 9th, we had half a
gale from the E.S.E., with a velocity of 33 feet per second, being
the strongest fair wind we had had for a long time.
It was astonishing what a change a single day of fair wind
would work in the spirits of all on board. Those who previously
moved about dreamily and listlessly now awakened to fresh
courage and enterprise. Ever>- face beamed with satisfaction.
Previously our daily intercourse consisted of the monosyllables
** Yes** and ** No": now we were brimming over with jokes and
fun from morning to night : laughter and song and lively chat
was heard all around. And with our spirits rose our hopes for
a favorable drift. The chart was brought out again and again.
MARCH 15 TO JUNE 22, i8gs 619
and the forecasts made were apt to be sanguine enough. " If
the wind keeps long in this quarter we shall be at such and such
a spot on such and such a day. It is as clear as daylight we
shall be home some time in the autumn of 1896. Just see how
we have drifted up to now, and the farther we get west the faster
we shall go," and so forth.
The cold which in the middle of March did not exceed— 40°
C, kept steadily at from —30° to —25° during April, but it de-
creased at a comparatively rapid rate in May, so that by about
the middle of the month the thermometer registered —14°, and
in the latter part only — 6^ On June 3d — so far the warmest
day — a large pond of water had formed close to the vessel,
although the highest temperature attained that day was —2°,
and the weather was overcast.*
On June 5th the thermometer for the first time stood above
freezing-point — viz., at +0.2®. It then fell again for a few days,
going down to —6°; but on the nth it rose again to about 2''
above freezing-point, and so on.
The amount of atmospheric moisture deposited during the
above-mentioned period was most insignificant ; only a very slight
snowfall now and then. However, Thursday, June 6th, was an
exception. The wind, which for several days had been blowing
from the south and west, veered round to the northwest during
the night, and at 8 A.M. next morning it changed to the north,
blowing a fresh breeze, with an exceptionally heavy snowfall.
We saw the midnight sun for the first time during the night
of April 2d.
One of the scientific tasks of the expedition was to investi-
gate the depth of the Polar Sea. Our lines, which were weak
and not very suitable for this purpose, were soon so worn by
* On April i8th, when the doctor and I were out looking for a suitable
piece of ice for determining the specific gravity of the ice, we observed a
remarkable drop of water hanging under a projecting corner of a large
block of ice, reared up high by pressure. There it hung, in the shade,
quivering in the fresh breeze, although the thermometer registered about
—23° of frost. •• That must be very salt," I said, and tasted it—" Phew!"
It was salt in very truth — rank salt, like the strongest brine.
^^ APPEXDIX
iTzzzi-jn. corro^for.. --.x:da::3r.. etc. that we were compelled not
or.Iy :o -j^e therr. rr.:-5t cautiously, but also to limit the number
o: sar.dir.gs i^z n::re than -i^as desirable. It sometimes hap-
:>er.ec that the Ifr.e -.vouli break wh::e bein^ hauled in. so that a
g^od cthl of it was I>5t.
The nrst sour.cing after the departure of Dr. Nansen and Jo-
hansen was taken on April 2xd. We thought we should be able
to lower away down to 3000 metres • 1625 fathoms) in one run,
but as the line commenced to slacken at 1900 metres (1029
fathoms ' we thought we had touched bottom and hauled the
line up again. As it appeared that the line had not reached
the bottom, we now let down 5000 metres of line y 1625 fath-
oms', but in doing so we lost about 900 metres of line (487
fathoms*, .\ccordingly I assumed that we had touched ground
at 2100 metres iii^S fathoms 1, and I therefore lowered the
line to that depth without touching bottom. The next day
we took new soundings at depths of 2100. 2300. 2500, and
3000 metres respectively 'ii^r. 1245. 1353. and 1625 fathoms),
but all without touching bottom. On the third day, April
25th. we sounded first at 3000 metres, and then at 3200 metres
1 162; and 1733 fathomsi without touching bottom. The steel-
line being too short we had to lengthen it with a hemp-line, and
now went down to 3400 metres 1 1841 fathoms). While hauling
uo we perceived that the line broke, and found that, in addition
to the 1 10 fathoms' length of hemp -line, we had lost about 275
fathoms of steel-line. We then stopped taking soundings till
lulv 22d. as the hemp-lines were so badly worn that we dared
not venture to use them again until milder weather set in.
Wind and weather were, of course, a favorite topic on board
the /->*;/':. especially in connection with our drift. As is but
rii:ht and proper, we had a weather-prophet on board — to wit,
IVttorsen. His specialty was to predict fair wind, and in this
respect he was untiring, although his predictions were by no
means invariably fulfilled. But he also posed as a prophet in
other departments, and nothing seemed to delight him more
than the offer of a bet with him on his predictions. If he
won he was beaming with good humor for days at a stretch,
1
1
1
1
1
mA
\
II
MARCH 15 TO JUNE 22, iSgs 623
and if he lost he often knew how to shroud both his forecast
and the result in oracular mystery and darkness so that both
parties appeared to be right. At times, as already hinted, he
was unlucky, and then he was mercilessly chaffed ; but at other
times he would have a run of astounding luck, and then his
courage would rise to such an extent that he was ready to
prophesy and bet about anything.
Among his great misfortunes was a bet made with the mate
on May 4th that we should have land in sight by the end of
October. And on May 24th he made a bet with Nordahl that
by Monday night (the 27th) we should be at 80° east longitude.
Needless to say we all wished that his incredible predictions
might come true; but alas! the miracle did not happen, for it
was not until June 27th that the Fram passed the 80th degree
of longitude.
During the latter part of May the sun and the spring weather
commenced to disperse the layer of snow around the vessel to
such an extent as to make quite a little pond of snow-water on
the ice forward. As at that part especially, but also all along
the side of the vessel, the snow was full of soot, refuse, and the
clearings from the kennels, it was greatly to be feared that an
injurious, or, at any rate, obnoxious smell might arise, and if,
besides this, as was the case last year, a pond should form round
the vessel, the water in it would be too impure to be used in
flushing the deck. I therefore set all hands to work to cart
away the snow from the starboard side — a job which took about
two days.
The setting in of spring now kept us busy with various things
for .some time, both on board and on the ice. One of the first
things to be done was to bring our depot safely on board, as
lanes and rifts were now forming more frequently in the ice,
and some of the goods in the depot would not bear exposure to
damp.
The action of the sun's rays on the awning or tent soon be-
came so strong that the snow underneath the boats and on the
davits began to melt. All snow and ice had therefore to be re-
moved or scraped away not only under the awning but also under
624 APPENDIX
the boats, on the deck-house, in the passage on the starboard
side, in the holds, and wherever else it was necessary. In the
after-hold there was much more ice now than last winter, proba-
bly owing to the fact that we had kept the saloon much warmer
this winter than before.
In the saloon, the library, and the cabins we had a thorough
" spring cleaning." This was very badly needed, as the ceilings,
walls, and all the furniture and fittings, in the course of the long
polar night, had got covered with a thick, grimy-looking coating
composed of soot, grease, smoke, dust, and other ingredients.
I myself took in hand the painting of the saloon and of my
own cabin, which little by little had assumed the same dusky
ground-tint as their surroundings, and on the whole looked rather
enigmatic. By dint of much labor, and the application of a liberal
supply of soap and water, I succeeded in restoring them to some-
thing like their pristine beauty.
We finished our general clean-up on Whitsun-eve, June ist,
and thus spent a really comfortable Whitsuntide, with butter-
porridge for supper and a few extra delicacies afterwards.
After Whitsuntide we again took in hand various things re-
quired in view of the season, and of the possibility that the Fram
might get afloat in the course of the summer. On the great
hummock were many things I thought might be left there for
the present — for instance, the greater part of our dogs food.
The cases containing this were piled up to four different heights
so as to form a sloping roof off which the water could easily run,
and I had the whole covered over with tarpaulin. The long-
boat on the port side, which I proposed to leave on the ice till
the winter, was deposited in a safe place about 50 yards from
the ship, and provided with sails, rigging, oars, and a full equip-
ment, ready for any emergency.
The scraping away of the ice in the holds and on the half-deck
was finished on June I2th. We tried to cut the steam-pipe aft
(the pipe for rinse-water) out of the ice, but had to abandon the
attempt. One end of this pipe had been resting ever since last
year on the ice, and it was now so deeply frozen in that we
could not release it. We cut a hole all round it 4 feet deep^
MARCH IS TO JUNE 22, iS^s
627
but the hole quickly filled with water, so we left it to the s
heat to thaw the pipe loose.
So much water commenced to accumulate in the engine-room
about this time that we had to bale out considerable quantities
—certainly 130 gallons per day. We at first thought that the
water was produced by the thawing of the ice on board, but it
THE " FRAM BEFORE HER RELEASE
subsequently appeared that it was mainly due to leakages, which
probably arose from the fact that ice forming in the different
layers of the ship's skin forced the planking somewhat apart.
The state of health continued excellent, and the doctor had
virtually nothing to do in his professional capacity. In the way
628 APPENDIX
of "casualties" there were only a few of the most trifling nature,
such as a frozen big toe, a little skin-chafing here and there, a
sore eye or two ; that was all. However, we led a very regular
life, with the twenty-four hours suitably distributed between work,
exercise, and rest. We slept well and fed well, and so we were
very little concerned at the fact that when being weighed on
May 7th we were found to have lost flesh. However, the falling
off was not great ; the aggregate weight of the whole party was
barely 8 pounds less than the month before.
There was, however, one complaint that we suffered from — a
contagious one, though not of a dangerous nature. It became a
fashion, or, if you like, a fashionable complaint, on board the
FrafHy to shave one*s head. It was said that an infallible method
of producing a more luxuriant growth of hair was;to shave away
the little hair that still adorned the head of the patient. Juell first
started it, and then a regular mania set in, the others following
his example one by one, with the exception of myself and one
or two more. Like a cautious general, I first waited a while to
see whether the expected harvest sprouted on my comrades'
shaven polls ; and as the hair did not seem to grow any stronger
than before, I preferred a recipe ordered by the doctor — viz., to
wash the head daily with soft soap and subsequently rub in an
ointment. To make this treatment more effectual, however,
and let the ointment get at the scalp, I followed the example of
the others and shaved my head several times. Personally I do
not believe that the process did any good, but Pettersen was of
a different opinion. " The deuce take me," said he, one day
afterwards when cutting my hair, " if the captain hasn't got
some jolly strong bristles on his crown after that treatment."
The Seventeenth of May brought the finest weather that could
be imagined. A clear, bright sky, dazzling sunshine, lo*' to I2**
of cold, and an almost perfect calm. The sun, which at this time
of the year never sets throughout the twenty -four hours, was
already high in the heavens, when at 8 A.M. we were awakened
by the firing of a gun, and by joyous strains of the organ.
We jumped into our clothes more speedily than usual, swal-
lowed our breakfast, and with the liveliest expectation prepared
MARCH 15 TO JUNE 22, i8gs ^31
for what was in store ; for the " Festival Committee " had been
very busy the previous day. Punctually at 1 1 o'clock the vari-
ous corporations assembled under their flags and insignia, and
were assigned their position in the grand procession. I marched
at the head with the Norwegian flag. Next came Scott-Hansen
with the Franis pennant, and then followed Mogstad with the
banner of the Meteorological Department, richly bedecked with
" cyclonic centres '* and " prospects of fair weather." He was
seated on a box covered with bearskin placed on a sledge drawn
by seven dogs, the banner waving behind him on a pole rigged
as a mast. Amundsen was No. 4, bearing a demonstration
banner in favor of " the Pure Flag," and he was followed by
his esquire, Nordahl, on snow-shoes with a spear in his hand
and a rifle slung on his back. The flag showed on the red
ground a picture of an old Norwegian warrior breaking his
spear over his knee, with the inscription ** Onward ! Onward !
[Fram ! Fram !], ye Norseman ! Your own flag in your own
land. What we do we do for Norway.** Fifth in the proces-
sion came the mate, with the Norwegian arms on a red back-
ground, and sixth was Pettersen with the flag of the Mechanical
Department. Last came the ** Band,** represented by Bentzen
with an accordion. The procession was followed by the public
dressed in their best — viz., the doctor, Juell, and Henriksen in
picturesque confusion.
To the waving of banners and strains of music the proces-
sion wended its way past the corner of the University (viz., the
/r^;;/), down "Karl Johan*s Street** and "Church Street** (a
road laid out by Scott-Hansen for the occasion across the rift in
front and the pressure-ridge), past Engebret*s (the depot on the
ice), and then wheeled round to the ** Fortification Parade***
(viz., the top of the great hummock), where it stopped and faced
round with flags erect.
There I called for cheers in honor of the festive occasion,
in response to which there rose a ninefold hurrah from the
densely packed multitude.
* These are well-known localities in Christiania, Engebret's being a
restaurant.
CHAPTER II
June 22 to August 15, 1895
As spring advanced the disturbance in the ice increased, and
new lanes and pools were formed in every direction. At the
same time there was a daily increase in the number of aquatic
animals and birds around us.
On the night of June 22d I was awakened by the watch,
who told me that there were whales in the lane on the starboard
side. Every one hurried on deck, and we now saw that some
seven or eight female narwhals were gambolling in the channel
close upon us. We fired some shots at them, but these did not
seem to affect them. Later in the day I went after them in the
sealing-boat, but without getting within range. In order to be
able to give effectual chase, should they, as we hoped, pay us a
visit in the future, we made ready two harpoon-bladders and an
oak anchor, which we attached to the end of the harpoon line.
Should the whale, when harpooned, prove too strong for us, we
would let go the anchor and the bladders, and if the fates were
not against us, we might be successful.
We were quite anxious to try the new apparatus, and there-
fore kept a sharp lookout for the whales. One or two were seen
occasionally in the channel, but they disappeared again so
quickly that we had no time to pursue them. On the evening
of July 2d we had the prospect of a good hunt. The lane
swarmed with whales, and we quickly started out with the boat
in pursuit. But this time, too, they were so shy that we could
not get at them. One of them remained some time in a small
channel, which was so narrow that we could throw across it. We
attempted to steal on him along the edge, but as soon as we had
634 APPENDIX
got within a short distance of him he took alarm, and swam out
into the large channel, where he remained rolling about, turning
over on his back for some four or five minutes at a time with his
head above water, puffing away, and positively jeering at us.
When at length we had wearily worked our way back again to the
large channel, intending to assist him a little in his performances
— pop, away he went.
Some days later we again received a visit from a troupe of
these comedians in another channel newly formed in close prox-
imity to the vessel. Three of them had long, heavy tusks,
which they showed high above the water, and then used to
scratch their female friends on the back with. We immediately
prepared ourselves with rifles and harpoons, and ran towards the
channel as fast as our legs would carry us. But before we got
there the beasts had fled. It was of no use trying to get within
range of these shy creatures, so, after that, as a rule, we allowed
them to remain unmolested.
Once, however, during the spring of 1896, we were near
catching a narwhal. I had been out fowling, and was just busily
taking out of the boat the birds I had shot, when suddenly a
narwhal appeared in the channel close to our usual landing-
place, where the harpoon with the line attached lay ready for
immediate use. I quickly seized the harpoon, but the coil of
line was too short, and when I had got this right the whale dived
below the water, just as I was ready to harpoon him.
An occasional large seal (Phoca barbatd) also appeared at this
time; we chased them sometimes, but without success ; they were
too shy.
With the fowling our luck was better, and so early as June
7th we shot so many black guillemots, gulls, fulmars, and little
auks that we partook on that day of our first meal of fresh meat
during the year. The flesh of these birds is not, as a rule, valued
very much, but wc ate it with ravenous appetites, and found that
it had an excellent flavor — better than the tenderest young
ptarmigan.
One day three gulls appeared, and settled down at some dis-
tance from the vessel. Pettersen fired twice at them and missed,
_/
• t
if'
i
I
JUNE 22 TO AUGUST 15, 1895 637
they meanwhile resting calmly on the snow, and regarding him
with intense admiration. Finally they flew away, accompanied
by sundry blessings from the hunter, who was exasperated at
his ** mishap," as he called it. The eye-witnesses of the bom-
bardment had another idea of the " mishap," and many were
the jokes that rained down upon the fellow when he returned
empty-handed.
However, Pettersen soon became an ardent sportsman, and
declared that one of the first things he would do when he re-
turned home would be to buy a fowling-piece. He appeared to
have some talent as a marksman, though he had hardly ever
fired a shot before he came on board the Fram, Like all be-
ginners, he had to put up with a good many misses before he
got so far as to hit his mark. But practice makes perfect ; and
one fine day he began to win our respect as a marksman, for he
actually hit a bird on the wing. But then came a succession of
"mishaps" for some time, and he lost faith in his power of kill-
ing his game on the wing, and sought less ambitious outlets for
his skill. Long afterwards the real cause of his many bad shots
came to light. A wag, who thought that Pettersen was doing
too much execution among the game, had quietly reloaded his
cartridges, so that Pettersen had all the time been shooting with
salt instead of lead, and that, of course, would make a little
difference.
Besides the animals named, it appears that Greenland sharks
are also found in these latitudes. One day Henriksen went to
remove the blubber from some bearskins, which he had had
hanging out in the channel for a week or so ; he found that the
two smallest skins had been nearly devoured, so that only a few
shreds were left. It could hardly have been any other animal
than the Greenland shark which had played us this trick. We
put out a big hook with a piece of blubber on it, to try if we
could catch one of the thieves, but it was of no use.
One day in the beginning of August the mate and Mogstad
were out upon the ice trying to find the keel of the petroleum
launch, which had been forgotten. They said that they had
seen fresh tracks of a bear, which had been trotting about the
638 APPENDIX
great hummock. It was now almost a year since we last had
a bear in our neighborhood, and we felt, therefore, much elated
at the prospect of a welcome change in our bill of fare. For
a long time, however, we had nothing but the prospect. True,
Mogstad saw a bear at the great hummock, but, as it was far
ofif to begin with, and going rapidly farther, it was not pursued.
Almost half a year elapsed before another bear paid us a visit —
it was not till February 28, 1896.
As I said before, the Fram had, ever since the first week in
May, been fast embedded in a large floe of ice, which daily
diminished in extent. Cracks were constantly formed in all
directions, and new lanes were opened, often only to close up
again in a few hours. When the edges of the ice crashed against
each other with their tremendous force, all the projecting points
were broken off, forming smaller floes, and pushed over and
under each other, or piled up into large or small hummocks,
which would collapse again when the pressure ceased, and break
off large floes in their fall. In consequence of these repeated
disturbances the cracks in our floe constantly increased, par-
ticularly after a very violent pressure on July 14th, when rifts
and channels were formed right through the old pressure-ridge
to port, and close up to the side of the vessel, so that it ap-
peared for a time as if the Fram would soon slip down into the
water. For the time being, however, she remained in her old
berth, but frequently veered round to different points of the
compass during all these disturbances in the ice. The great
hummock, which constantly increased its distance from the
vessel, also drifted very irregularly, so that it was at one time
abeam, at another right ahead.
On July 27th there was a disturbance in the ice such as we
had not experienced since we got fast. Wide lanes were formed
in every direction, and the floe upon which the smith's forge
was placed danced round in an incessant whirl, making us fear
we might lose the whole apparatus at any moment. Scott-Hansen
and Bentzen, who were just about to have a sail in the fresh
breeze, undertook to transport the forge and all its belongings to
the floe on which we were lying. They took two men to help
^>^
•J
MOVAHI.1-: .METKOKOl.OGICAl. STATION UN TIIK ICK. JULY, [895
JUNE 22 TO AUGUST is, 1893 641
them, and succeeded, with great difficulty, in saving the things.
At the same time there was a violent disturbance in the water
around the vessel. She turned round with the floe, so that she
rapidly came to head W. \ S., instead of N.E. All hands
were busy getting back into the ship all the things which had
been placed upon the floes, and this was successfully accom-
plished, although it was no trifling labor, and not without danger
to the boats, owing to the strong breeze and the violent working
of the floes and blocks of ice. The floe with the ruins of the
forge was slowly bearing away in the same direction as the great
hummock, and served for some time as a kind of beacon for us.
Indeed, in the distance it looked like one, crowned as it was on
its summit with a dark skull-cap, a huge iron kettle, which lay
there bottom upward. The kettle was originally bought by
Trontheim, and came on board at Khabarova, together with the
dogs. He had used it on the trip through Siberia for cooking
the food for the dogs. We used to keep blubber and other dogs*
food in it. In the course of its long service the rust had eaten
holes in the bottom, and it was therefore cashiered, and thrown
away upon the pressure-ridge close to the smithy. It now served,
as I have said, as a beacon, and is perhaps to-day drifting about
in the Polar Sea in that capacity — unless it has been found and
taken possession of by some Eskimo housewife on the east coast
of Greenland.
As the sun and mild weather brought their influence to bear
upon the surface of the ice and the snow, the vessel rose daily
higher and higher above the ice, so that by July 23d we had
three and a half planks of the greenheart ice-hide clear on the
port side and ten planks to starboard. In the evening of August
8th our floe cracked on the port, and Xh^Fram altered her list from
7° to port to 1.5° starboard side, with respectively four and two
planks of the ice-hide clear, and eleven bow-irons clear forward.
I feared that the small floe in which we were now embedded
might drift off down the channel if the ice slackened any more,
and I therefore ordered the mate to moor the vessel to the main
flow, where many of our things were stored. The order, how-
ever, was not quickly enough executed, and when I came on
II.— 41
642 APPENDIX
deck half an hour later the Fram was already drifting down
through the channel. All hands were called up immediately,
and with our united strength we succeeded in hauling the vessel
up to the floe again and mooring her securely.
As we were desirous of getting the Fram quite clear of the
ice-bed in which she had been lying so long, I determined to try
blasting her loose. The next day, therefore, August 9th, at
7.30 P.M., we fired a mine of about 7 pounds of gunpowder,
placed under the floe 6 feet from the stern of the vessel.
There was a violent shock in the vessel when the mine exploded,
but the ice was apparently unbroken. A lively discussion arose
touching the question of blasting. The majority believed that
the mine was not powerful enough ; one even maintained that
the quantity of gunpowder used should have been 40 or 50
pounds. But just as we were in the heat of the debate the floe
suddenly burst. Big lumps of ice from below the ship came
driving up through the openings : the Fram gave a great heave
with her stern, started forward and began to roll heavily, as if to
shake off the fetters of ice, and then plunged with a great splash
out into the water. The way on her was so strong that one of
the bow hawsers parted, but otherwise the launch wept so
smoothly that no ship-builder could have wished it better. We
moored the stern to the solid edge of ice by means of ice-
anchors, which we had recently forged for this purpose.
Scott-Hansen and Pettersen, however, were very near getting
a cold bath. Having laid the mine under the floe, they placed
themselves abaft with the ** pram,'* * in order to haul in the
string of the fuse. When the floe burst, and the Fram plunged,
and the remainder of the floe capsized as soon as it became free
of its 600 tons* burden, the two men in the boat were in no
pleasant predicament right in the midst of the dangerous mael-
strom of waves and pieces of ice ; their faces, especially Petter-
sen*s, were worth seeing while the boat was dancing about with
them in the caldron.
The vessel now had a slight list to starboard (0.75°), and
"c A small keel less boat.
JUNE 22 TO AUGUST 15, 1895
643
floated considerably lighter upon the water than before, as three
oak planks were clear to starboard, and somewhat more to port,
with nine bow-irons clear forward. So far as we could see, her
hull had suffered no damage whatever, either from the many and
occasionally violent pressures to which she had been subjected,
or from the recent launching.
The only fault about the vessel was that she still leaked a
little, rendering it necessary to use the pumps frequently. For a
short time, indeed, she was nearly tight, which made us inclined
to believe that the leakage must be above the water-line, but we
soon found we were in error about this, when she began to make
more water than ever.
For the rest, she was lying very well now, with the port side
along an even and rather low edge of ice, and with an open
channel to starboard ; the channel soon closed up, but still left a
small opening, about 200 yards long and 120 yards wide. I only
wished that winter would soon come, so that we might freeze
securely into this favorable position. But it was too early in
the year, and there was too much disturbance in the ice to
allow of that. We had still many a tussle to get through before
the Fram settled in her last winter haven.
Our drift westward in the latter half of June and the greater
part of July was, on the whole, satisfactory. I give the following
observations :
Date
Latitude
Longitude
: DiRECriON OF
' Wind
0
0 '
^ une 22d
84 32
80 58
N.
' une 27th . .
84 44
79 35
N. by E.
une 29th . . .
84 33
79 50
E.N.E.
] uly 5th . .
84 48
75 3
S.E.
[ uly 7th . . .
84 48
74 7
W.S.W.
] uly 1 2th . . .
84 41
76 20
W.S.W.
] uly 22d . .
84 36
72 56
N.N.W.
July 27th . .
84 29
73 49
S.W. by S.
uly 31st . .
84 27
76 10
S.W.
August 8th .
84 38
11 36
N.W.
August 22Cl .
84 9
78 47
S.W.
August 25th .
84 17
79 2
E. by N.
September 2(1
84 47
11 17
S.E.
September 6th
84 43
79 52
- S.W.
644 APPENDIX
As will be seen from the above, there were comparatively
small deviations towards the south and the north in the line of the
drift, whereas the deviations to east and west were much greater.
From June 22d to the 29th it bore rapidly westward, then
back some distance in the beginning of July ; again for a couple
of days quickly towards the west, and then a rapid return till
July 1 2th. From this day until the 22d we again drifted well
to the west, to 72° 56', but from that time the backward drift
predominated, placing us at 79° 52' on September 6th, or about
the same longitude as we started from on June 29th.
During this period the weather was, on the whole, fair and
mild. Occasionally we had some bad weather, with drift-snow
and sleet, compelling us to stay indoors. However, the bad
weather did not worry us much ; on the contrary, we looked
rather eagerly for changes in the weather, especially if they
revived our hopes of a good drift westward, with a prospect of
soon getting out of our prison. It must not be understood that
we dreaded another winter in the ice before getting home. We
had provisions enough, and everything else needful to get over
some two or three polar winters, if necessary, and we had a ship
in which we all placed the fullest confidence, in view of the many
tests she had been put to. We were all sound and healthy, and
had learned to stick ever closer to one another for better and for
worse.
With regard to Nansen and Johansen, hardly any of us enter-
tained serious fears ; however dangerous their trip was, we were
not afraid that they would succumb to their hardships on the
way, and be prevented from reaching Franz Josef Land, and
thence getting back to Norway before the year was out. On
the contrary, we rejoiced at the thought that they would soon
be home, telling our friends that we were getting on all right,
and that there was every prospect of our return in the autumn
of 1896. It is no wonder, however, that we were impatient, and
that both body and soul suffered when the drift was slow, or
when a protracted contrary wind and back-drift seemed to make
it highly improbable that we should be able to reach home by
the time we were expected.
I I
1
' I
l> I
-I I
'■!
; .i
ii
JUNE 22 TO AUGUST 15, 1895 647
Furthermore, the most important part of our mission was in
a way accomplished. There was hardly any prospect that the
drift would carry us much farther northward than we were now,
and whatever could be done to explore the regions to the north
would be done by Nansen and Johansen. It was our object,
therefore, in compliance with the instructions from Dr. Nansen,
to make for open water and home by the shortest way and in
the safest manner, doing, however, everything within our power
to carry home with us the best possible scientific results. These
results, to judge from our experience up to this point, were
almost a foregone conclusion — to wit, that the Polar Sea retained
its character almost unchanged as we drifted westward, showing
the same depths, the same conditions of ice and currents, and
the same temperatures. No islands, rocks, shoals, and, still less,
no mainland, appeared in the neighborhood of our frequently
irregular course; wherever we looked there was the same mo-
notonous and desolate plain of more or less rugged ice, hold-
ing us firmly, and carrying us willy-nilly along with it. Our
scientific observations were continued uninterruptedly, as regu-
larly and accurately as possible, and comprised, besides the usual
meteorological observations, soundings, measurement of the
thickness of the ice, longitude and latitude, taking the tem-
perature of the sea at various depths, determining its salinity,
collecting specimens of the fauna of the sea, magnetic and elec-
trical observations, and so forth.
CHAPTER III
August 15 to January i, 1896
With the rise in the temperature the snow surface became
daily worse, so that it was seldom fit for snow-shoeing ; even
with "truger" * on it was most laborious to get along, for the
snow was so soft that we sank in up to our knees. Now
and then for an odd day or so the surface would be fit, even
in the month of July, and we took these opportunities of mak-
ing short excursions for shooting and the like. Then the sur-
face would be as bad as ever again, and one day when I had
to go out on the ice to fetch a fulmar which had been wounded,
the snow was so soft that I constantly sank in up to my waist.
Before I could reach the bird the whole pack of dogs came
tearing by, got hold of it, and killed it. One of the dogs seized
the bird in his mouth, and then there was a wild race between
it and the others. At last the whole pack turned back towards
the lane in the ice again, and I watched my opportunity and
snatched the bird from them. I had paid pretty dearly for my
booty, all spent and dripping with perspiration as I was from
plodding through that bottomless morass of snow.
Our chief occupation was still the work at our sledges and
kayaks. The sledges, which were all brought on board from
the great hummock where they had lain all the winter, were re-
paired and fitted with runners. By July i6th they were all in
good order — eight hand-sledges and two dog-sledges.
The kayaks, upon which we had long been engaged, were
finished about the same time. We had now in all five double
and one single kayak. Of these I myself made one, the single
kayak, which weighed 32 pounds. All of them were tested in
the channel, and proved sound and watertight. Both the kayaks
♦ A round wicker snow-shoe like a basket-lid.
AUGUST 15 TO JANUARY /, 1896
649
and the sledges were hoisted on the davits, so that they could be
let down at a moment's notice in case of need.
The petroleum launch, which was of no use to us as it was, but
would afford good materials for runners and other things, was
brought from the great hummock and taken to pieces. It was
built of choice elm, and a couple of planks were immediately
used for runners to those of the sledges, which, for lack of ma-
terial, were as yet unprovided with these appliances.
The medicine-chest, which had also lain in depot at the great
hummock, was fetched and stowed away in one of the long-
boats, which had been placed on the pressure-ridge hard by the
ship. The contents had taken no harm, and nothing had burst
with the frost, although there were several medicines in the
chest which contained no more than 10 per cent, of alcohol.
At that time we were also busy selecting and weighing provis-
ions and stores for eleven men for a seventy days* sledging expedi-
tion and a six months' sojourn on the ice. The kinds of provisions
and their weight will be seen from the accompanying table :
Seventy Days' Sledge Provisions for Eleven
Cadbury's chocolate, 5 boxes of 48 pounds
Meat chocolate
Wheaten bread, 16 boxes of 44 pounds
Danish butter, 12 tins of 28 pounds
Lime-juice tablets ....
Fish flour (Professor Vage's)
Viking potatoes, 3 tins of 26 pounds
Knorr's pea-soup .
lentil-soup
bean-soup .
Bovril, 2 boxes
Vril-food, I box
Oatmeal, i box
Serin powder, i box
Aleuronate bread, 5 boxes of
Pemmican, 6 boxes
7 sacks
Liver, i sack .
Total .
<<
<<
50 pounds
Men
Pounds
240
25
704
2
50
78
5
5
5
104
48
80
50
250
340
592
102
3016
Besides these we took salt, pepper, and mustard
650
APPENDIX
Provisions for Eleven Men during a Six Months' Stay
ON THE Ice
Roast and boiled beef, 14 tins of 72 pounds
Minced coHops. 3 tins of 48 pounds.
Corned beef, 3 tins of 84 pounds .
Compressed ham, 3 tins of 84 pounds
Corned mutton, 17 tins of 6 pounds
Bread. 37 tins of 50 pounds .
Knorr's soups, various, 2 tins of 56} pounds
Vegetables: white cabbage, julienne, pot-herbs
Flour, sugar, 3 cases of 40 pounds
Oatmeal, 4 cases of 80 pounds
Groats, 4 cases of 80 pounds
Cranberry, 2 cases of 10 pounds
Margarine, 20 jars of 28 pounds
Lunch tongue, i case
Danish butter, 2 cases .
Stearine candles, 5 cases
Preserved fish, i tin
Macaroni, i case
Viking potatoes, 4 cases
Vdge's fish flour, 2 cases.
Frame-food jelly, i jar .
Marmalade jelly, i jar .
Lime-juice jelly, i jar .
Cadbury's chocolate, 3 cases
Lactose rin cocoa, i case
Milk. 10 cases of 48 tins
Tea. I case
English pemmican, 13 cases
Danish pemmican, i case
Dried liver jxilties. 3 oases
Vril-food, 5 cases .
Pounds
1008
144
252
252
102
1850
60
120
320
320
20
560
20
336
200
22
50
208
200
190
54
54
144
18
480
20
756
68
204
208
Besides these, 2 tins of salt, i tin of mustard, and i tin of pepper.
When all the stores were ready and packed, they were pro-
visionally stowed at certain fixed points on deck, under the awn-
ing forward. I did not want them taken out on the ice until
hiter in the year, or until circumstances rendered it necessary.
We had still abundance of coal — about 100 tons. I considered
that 20 tons would be about enough for six months' consump^
AUGUST IS TO JANUARY /, iSg6 651
tion on the ice. With that quantity, therefore, we filled butts,
casks, and sacks, and took it out on the ice, together with 1400
pounds of tinned potatoes, about 45 gallons of petroleum, about
80 gallons of gas-oil, and about 34 gallons of coal-oil.
As the ship was still deeply laden, I wished to lighten her as
much as possible, if only it could be managed without exposing
to risk any of the stores which had to be unloaded. After the
windmill was worn out and taken away we had, of course, no use
for the battery and dynamo, so we took the whole concern to
pieces and packed it up, with lamps, globes, and. everything be-
longing to it. The same was done with the petroleum motor. The
** horse-miir* was also taken down and put out on the ice, with
a lot of heavy materials. One long-boat had been put out earlier,
and now we took the other down from the davits and took it up
to the great hummock. But as the hummock shortly afterwards
drifted a good way off from us, the boat, with everything else
that lay there, was brought back again and placed upon the great
ice-floe to which we were moored — our ** estate," as we used to
call it. On top of the davits, and right aft to the half-deck, we
ran a platform of planks, on which the sledges, kayaks, and
other things were to be laid up in the winter.
On July 22d we continued our deep-sea soundings, taking
two on that day, the first to 1354 fathoms (2500 metres) and
the second to 1625 fathoms (3000 metres), without touching
bottom either time. In order to make sure that the lead should
sink, we lowered away the line very slowly, so that it took two
hours and a quarter to reach a depth of 3000 metres. On the 23d
we again took two soundings, one of 1840 fathoms (3400 metres),
without finding bottom, and then one in which we found bottom
at 2056 fathoms (3800 metres). It took two hours and a half to
lower the lead to the latter depth. Finally, on July 24th we
again took a sounding of 3600 metres without finding bottom,
and therefore concluded the depth to be from 3700 to 3800
metres.
On July /th the doctor rowed out in the ** pram '* in search
of algae, but came back empty-handed. There were remarkably
few algae to be found this summer, nor did there seem to be
652 APPENDIX
so much animal life in the water as there had been the year
before.
For a few days after she got loose, the Fram lay in a very
good position in the pool ; but during the night of August 14th
a high block of ice came floating down the lane, which had now
widened a little, and jammed itself between the ship's side and
the farther edge of the pool, which it thus entirely blocked.
As we did not like having this uncomfortable and dangerous
colossus close at our side, in case we should remain at the same
spot throughout the autumn and winter, we determined to blast
it away. Scott-Hansen and Nordahl at once took this in hand,
and accomplished the task after several days' labor.
On Saturday afternoon, August 17th, a pretty strong ice-
pressure suddenly set in around us. In the course of a few min-
utes the Fram was lifted 22 inches by the stern, and 14 inches
by the bow. In stately fashion, with no noise, and without
heeling over in the least, the heavy vessel was swiftly and lightly
raised, as if she had been a feather — a spectacle at once impres-
sive and reassuring.
The next day the ice slackened a little again, and the ship
was once more afloat. So it lay quietly until the morning of the
2 1st, when another strong pressure began. The ship now lay in
a very awkward position, with a high hummock on each side,
which gripped her amidships for a space of about 9 yards, and
screwed her up 6 or 8 inches. But the pressure ended in half an
hour or so, and the Fram sank again into her former berth.
When there were symptoms of pressure we always tried to
warp the ship as far away as possible from the threatening point,
and occasionally we succeeded. But during the stormy weather,
with southerly winds, which prevailed at this time, it was often
quite impossible to get her to budge ; for she offered a great
surface to the wind, with her heavy rigging and the high awning
forward. Our united forces were often unable to move her an
inch, and ice-anchors, moorings, and warping-cables were per-
petually breaking.
At last, on August 22d, we succeeded in warping the ship
along a bit, so that we might hope to escape pressure if the ice
I
•:■■
i
I
i
I
) ■
I,
)
■■r
AUGUST IS TO JANUARY /, iSgd 655
should again begin to pinch. As the ice soon after slackened a
good deal, and became more broken than before, we some days
later made another attempt to haul her a little farther, but had
soon to give it up ; there was not enough space between the two
great floes on either hand of us. We now lay at the same spot
until September 2d, with half a gale blowing continually from
the southwest, and with heavy rain now and then. On the even-
ing of August 30th, for instance, we had a violent rain-storm,
which loosened the ice-coating of the rigging and made a fright-
ful racket as it brought the pieces of ice clattering down upon
the deck, the deck-house, and the awning.
Our ** estate *' was very thoroughly ploughed, harrowed, and
drained at this time by wind, rain, pressure, and other such
doughty laborers. Then came the tiresome business of moving
the things out from the ship, which involved the cutting up and
parcelling out of almost the whole " estate,'* so that what was
left open to us was scanty and cramped enough.
Thus reduced, the " estate " now formed an approximately
oblong floe, with its greatest length from east to west, and sur-
rounded on all sides by more or less open rifts and lanes. The
Frani lay moored to the north side close to the northeast point,
with her bow heading west. Immediately astern of her, and sepa-
rated from the point only by a narrow lane, lay a large floe, upon
which was stowed, among other things, a part of our provision of
coal. Far off to the westward the great hummock still lay drifting.
While the other sides of the " estate " were pretty nearly
straight, the east side formed a concave arc or bay, which offered
an excellent winter berth for the Fram, But there was no
possibility of getting the ship into it so long as the channel be-
tween the ** estate ** and the floe to eastward remained closed.
Late in the afternoon of September 2d the ice at last slackened
so much that we could make an attempt. By the help of our
tackle we managed to get her warped a ship's length eastward,
but it was impossible for the moment to get her any farther, as
the new ice was already pretty thick (the night temperature was
— 5° C), and also a good deal packed. Nor was it any use to
bring the ice-saw into play and cut a channel, for the slush was
656 APPENDIX
so deep that we could not shove the fragments aside or under
each other.
The next day began with half a gale from the southeast
and rain ; but at 6 o'clock the wind moderated and veered to
the south, and at 8 o'clock the ice around the lane began to
slacken a 'good deal. As there was now more room, we made
good progress with cutting our way through the new ice, and
before midday we had got the Fram hauled into the bay and
moored in the winter harbor which we all hoped might prove
her last.
When Nansen and Johansen set out, they left seven dogs
behind, the bitch " Sussi *' and the six youngest puppies :
"Kobben," " Snadden," "Bella," " Skvint," "Axel," and
"Boris." On April 2Sth "Sussi" gave birth to twelve pup-
pies. We had made a cozy little kennel for her on deck,
lining it with reindeer -skin. Petterson came down in the
morning, and told us that " Sussi " was running round whin-
ing and howling. Mogstad and I went up and shut her into
the kennel, where she at once gave birth to a puppy. When
the afternoon came, and we saw that more and more citizens
were being added to our community, we feared that the mother
would not be able to warm all her litter, and consequently re-
moved the whole family into the saloon. All the puppies were
large and handsome, most of them quite white, and looking as
though they would turn out regular little " bjelkier," as the Samo-
yedes call all white dogs. They grew and throve excellently as
saloon passengers, and were petted and spoiled by every one.
They made their home in the saloon for a month, and then we
transferred them to the above-mentioned kennel on deck. After
they had been up there for some weeks it appeared as though
they had suddenly stopped growing, although they were con-
stantly well fed with raw bear's-flesh, milk, and the broken meat
from our table. About the second week of August two of the
puppies died of convulsions. The doctor managed to save a
third by means of warm baths and careful nursing. At the
end of the month another of them was seized with convulsions
and died, although it, too, was treated with warm baths and
AUGUST IS TO JANUARY /, 1896 657
comfortably housed, first in the saloon, and afterwards in the
work-room.
In the beginning of September, when the frequent rain made
things very moist and uncomfortable in the kennel and on deck,
we built a kennel out on the ice with a tarpaulin roof and a
floor of planks, with plenty of shavings spread over them.
While it was being built we let the whole pack of dogs out
upon the ice ; but after playing for half an hour the puppies,
one after another, began to have convulsions. The attacks
passed quickly over, however. We drenched them with soap
and water, and then settled them in their new abode.
As the puppies grew older we had to keep a sharp watch
upon them when we let them out upon the ice. They romped
and gambolled with such ungovernable glee that it often hap-
pened that one or other of them plumped into the water, and
had to be laboriously fished out again by the Master of the
Hounds for the time being or whoever else happened to be
at hand. Moreover, they soon acquired a taste for longer ex-
cursions, and followed our tracks far over the ice.
One day the doctor and I were out photographing. At a
considerable distance from the ship we came upon a large pool
of fresh water, and took a little rest upon its inviting, mirror-like
ice. While we lay there chatting at our ease, we saw " Kob-
ben ** coming after us. As soon as he caught sight of us, he
stopped and stood wondering what strange creatures we could
be. Then we began to creep on all-fours towards him ; and the
moment we did so, " Kobben ** found his legs to some purpose.
He set off homeward as though he were running for dear life ;
and even when we got back to the ship and several other puppies
met us and knew us, the poor creature was still so panic-stricken
that it was a good while before he ventured to come near us.
On September 28th we again lost one of the puppies. It
was seized with convulsions, and lay whining and howling all
day. As the evening advanced, and it became paralyzed along
one side, there was no hope of saving it, so we put an end to its
misery. It was pitiful to see how these pretty little creatures
suffered when the convulsions came upon them.
II.— 42
658 APPENDIX
On October 9th "Skvint" gave birth to puppies, but as so
young an animal could not have brought them up, especially
in such a cold season, we allowed her to keep only one of them
as an experiment ; the others were at once killed. A week
later "Sussi" produced a second litter, two he-dogs and nine
she-dogs. We let her keep the two males and one of the females.
It proved inadvisable to have both the mothers with their
families in the same kennel. If one of the mothers went out
for a moment, the other at once took all the puppies into her
keeping, and then there was a battle royal when the first one
returned and wanted to reclaim her property. Something of
this sort had, no doubt, occurred one night in the case of
" Skvint," whom Henriksen found in the morning lying at the
door of the kennel frozen so fast to the ice that it cost us a good
deal of trouble to get her loose again. She must have had
anything but a pleasant night — the thermometer had been down
to —33*^ C. (—27.4^ Fahr.) — and her tail was frozen fast to one
of her hind-legs, so that we had to take her down into the sa-
loon to get her. thawed. To obviate such misadventures for
the future I had a detached villa built for her where she could
be at peace with her child.
One evening, when Mogstad was housing the puppies for
the night, two of them were missing. Henriksen and I at
once set off with lanterns and guns to hunt for them. We
thought that there had been a bear in the neighborhood, as
we had heard a great deal of barking earlier in the day out
upon the ice to the east of the ship ; but we could find no
tracks. After supper we set out again, five of us, all carrying
lanterns. After an hour's search along the lanes and up in the
pressure-ridges we at last found the puppies on the other side
of a new lane. Although the new ice on the lane was strong
enough to bear them, they were so terrified after having been
in the water that they dared not come over to us, and we had
to make a long detour to get hold of them.
In the middle of December we took the youngest puppies
on board, as they had now grown so big, and ran away if they
were not very closely watched. The gangway was left open at
AUGUST IS TO JANUARY /, 1896 661
night so that the mothers could come into them from the ice
whenever they wanted to.
In respect to temper, there was a great difference between
the generation of dogs we had originally taken on board and
those we now had. While the former were great fighters, per-
petually at feud with each other, and often to the death, the lat-
ter were exceedingly quiet and well-behaved, although wild and
fierce enough when it came to chasing a bear. Now and then
there would be a little squabble among them, but this was rare.
"Axel" was the worst of them. Shortly before Christmas he
all of a sudden made a fierce attack upon the unoffending
** Kobben," against whom he bore a grudge. But he got the
rope's-end for supper several times, and that improved his man-
ners amazingly.
During the first half of September the weather was very un-
settled, with prevailing westerly and southwesterly winds, a good
deal of rain and snow, especially rain, and frequent disturbance
in the ice. The frost at night, which sometimes reached 10° or
11°, soon made the new ice strong enough to bear a man, ex-
cept just at the stern of the ship, where all the slops were thrown
out. Here the ice was much broken up, and formed a thick
slush, the surface of which was frozen over, but so thinly that it
would not bear much weight. Thus it happened one day that three
men got a ducking, one after another, at the same treacherous
spot. The first was Pettersen. He had to go round the stern
to look to the log-line which hung from the ship's side to port;
but before he got so far, down he went through the ice. Short-
ly after the same thing happened to Nordahl, and half an hour
later it was Bentzen's turn to plump in. He plunged right up
to his neck, but at once bobbed up again like a cork, and
scrambled gallantly up on to the edge of the ice without a mo-
ment's delay. The observation of the log-line had to be post-
poned, while a t;rand changing and drying of clothes took place
on board.
On September 15th the ice slackened so much that there was
quite a little sea between us and the great hummock. The fol-
lowing day the ice was still so much disturbed that we had to
662 APPENDIX
think seriously of fetching back the things which still lay there.
About midday I took a walk over towards the hummock to find
out a suitable transport path, and discovered an excellent one.
But some hours later, when I set oflF with men and sledges to
fetch back the things, so many lanes had opened around the
"estate" that we had to give up the attempt for that day.
During the whole of September, and well on in October, there
was almost incessant disturbance in the ice. New lanes opened
on all sides, some close to the ship, and there were frequent press-
ures. The winter harbor we had found proved an excellent one.
There was very little disturbance in the bay where the Fram
was moored, thanks to the new ice we here had around us, of
which the pressure was quite inconsiderable. It was quickly
broken up, and the fragments forced over or under each other,
while the two solid points of the bay bore the brunt of the at-
tacks. Once or twice it seemed as though the Fram would be
afloat again before the winter finally chained her in its icy fetters.
On October 25th, for instance, it slackened so much in the lane
nearest us that the ship lay free from the stern right to the fore-
chains ; but soon the ice packed together again, so that she was
once more frozen quite fast. The hardest pressure occurred on
October 26th and 27th, but the ship was not very severely at-
tacked. Pressure, however, is more unpleasant in winter, on ac-
count of the deafening noise it makes when the ice is hurled
against the ship's side. It was quite different in summer, when
the ice is more tough and elastic, and the pressure goes on calmly
and quietly.
After November ist a more peaceful period set in ; the press-
ures almost entirely ceased, the cold increased, the wind re-
mained easterly, and we drifted at a steady rate northward and
westward for the rest of the year.
During the autumn the drift had put our patience to a severe
test. Owing to the prevailing westerly winds it bore steadily
eastward, and day after day we looked in vain for a change.
The only thing that kept our spirits up was the knowledge that,
if we were going backward, it was slowly, sometimes very slowly,
indeed. Even several days of westerly wind did not take us so
AUGUST 15 TO JANUARY i, 1896
663
far to the east but that a day or two of favorable wind would
enable us to make up what we had lost, with something to
boot.
September 22d was the second anniversary of our being
frozen in, and the event was celebrated with a little festivity in
the evening. We had reason to be satisfied with the second
year's drift, since we had advanced nearly double as far as during
the first year, and, if this continued, there could scarcely be any
doubt that we should get clear of the ice in the autumn of 1896.
As will be seen from the following table, September 22d also
brought us a marked change for the better. On that day the
winter drift set in for good, and lasted without intermission
through the remainder of the year, so that between that day and
the second week in January we drifted from 82° 5' to 41° 41'
east longitude.
Date
Latitude
Longitude
Direction of
Wind
0
0
0
#
September 6th, 1895 . .
84
43
79
52
S.W.
September nth, 1895
84
59
78
15
E.
September 22d, 1895
85
2
82
5
Calm.
October 9th, 1895 .
85
4
79
30
E.
October 19th, 1895 .
85
45
78
21
E. to N.
October 25th, 1895 . .
85
46
73
25
N.E.
October 30th, 1895 • ■
8s
46
70
50
N.N.W.
November 8th, 1895
85
41
65
0
*#
E.
November 15th, 1895 .
85
55-5
66
31
E.N.E.
November 25th, 1895 .
85
47.5
62
56
N.E. to N.
December ist, 1895
8S
28
58
45
E.
December 7th, 1895
85
26
54
40
N.E.
December 14th, 1895 .
85
24
50
2
Calm.
December 21st, 1895 .
85
15
47
S6 '
N.E.
December 28th, 1895 .
85
24
48
22
N.W.
January 9th, 1896 . . .
84
57 1
41
41
N.
On October nth we hauled up the log-line and cut a new
hole for it in the ice right astern. Hitherto the log had had only
100 metres (54 fathoms) of line; now we gave it 300 metres (162
fathoms).
After the middle of September the cold steadily increased, as
the following observations will show :
664
APPENDIX
Date
Minimum Temperature
September i8th
September 26th
October 19th .
November 5th
November 9th
November 22d
December 31st
Centigrade
o
-12.5
— 24.0
— 300
— 32.2
-38.3
— 43.6
— 44.6
Fahrenheit
-h°9.6
— II. 2
— 22.0
— 25.8
— 36.8
— 46.4
— 48.2
The weather was, as a rule, fine during the last three months
of 1895, with clear air and light breezes ; only now and then (for
example, on October 29th, and November nth, 26th, and 27th)
the wind freshened to half a gale, with a velocity of as much as
48 feet per second.
In the beginning of September we found that the Fram was
drawing more and more water, so that we had a stiff job every
day to pump and bale her empty. But from the 23d onward
the leakage steadily declined, and about the second week of
October the engine-room was quite water-tight. It still leaked a
little, however, in the main hold ; but soon the leak ceased here
also, the water having frozen in the ship's side. For the rest, we
employed our time in all sorts of work about the ship, cutting up
and removing ice in the hold, cleaning, putting things in order,
etc.
Not until September 23d did the state of the ice permit us to
carry out our intention of fetching back the things from the
great hummock. The surface was that day excellent for sledges
with German -silver runners; wooden runners, on the other
hand, went rather heavily. We had also done some road-making
here and there, so that the conveyance of the goods went on
easily and rapidly. Wc brought back to the ship, in all, thirty-
six boxes of dog biscuits, and four barrels of petroleum. Next
day wc brought all that was left, and stacked it on the ice close
to the ship.
On September i6th Scott-Hansen and Nordahl set about
preparations for building a proper house for their magnetic ob-
AUGUST 15 TO JANUARY 7, 1896 665
servations. Their building material consisted of great blocks of
new ice, which they piled upon sledges and drove with the aid
of the dogs to the site they had chosen. Except for one or two
trial trips which Scott-Hansen had previously made with the
dogs, this was the first time they had been employed as draught-
animals. They drew well, and the carting went excellently. The
house was built entirely of hewn blocks of ice, which were
ranged above each other with an inward slant, so that when
finished it formed a compact circular dome of ice, in form and
appearance not unlike a Finn tent. A covered passage of ice
led into the house, with a wooden flap for a door.
When this observatory was finished, Scott-Hansen gave a
house-warming, the hut being magnificently decorated for the
occasion. It was furnished with a sofa, and with arm-chairs
covered with bear and reindeer skins. The pedestal in the
middle of the floor, on which the magnetic instruments were to
be established, was covered with a flag, and an ice-floe served as
a table. On the table stood a lamp with a red shade, and along
the walls were fixed a number of red paper lanterns. The effect
was quite festal, and we all sat round the room in the highest of
spirits. Our amiable host addressed little humorous speeches
to every one. Pettersen expressed the wish that this might be
the last ice-hut Scott-Hansen should build on this trip, and that
we might all be home again this time next autumn, and "none
the worse for it all." Pettersen's artless little address was re-
ceived with frantic enthusiasm.
For the rest, Pettersen had just about this time entered
upon a new office, having from September loth onward under-
taken the whole charge of Juell's former domain, the galley, a
department to which he gave his whole heart, and in which his
performances denoted entire satisfaction to every one. The
only branch of the culinary art with which he would have
nothing to do was the baking of Christmas cakes. This Juell
himself had to attend to when the time came.
When winter set in we built ourselves a new smithy in the
place of the one which drifted off on July 27th. It was con-
structed on the pressure-ridge where the boats and part of the
666 APPENDIX
stores from the great hummock had been placed. Its plan was
ver}" much like that of the former smithy. We first hollowed
out a cavity of sufficient size in the pressure-ridge, and then
roofed it over with blocks of ice and snow.
As the year waned, and the winter night impended, all the
sea animals and birds of passage which had swarmed around us
and awakened our longings during the short summer deserted
us one by one. They set off for the south, towards sunshine and
light and hospitable shores, while we lay there in the ice and
darkness for yet another winter. On September 6th we saw the
last narwhals gambolling in the lanes around the ship, and a
few days later the last flock of skuas {Lestris parasiticus) took
their departure. The sun moves quickly in these latitudes from
the first day that he peers over the horizon in the south till he
circles round the heavens all day and all night ; but still quicker
do his movements seem when he is on the downward path in au-
tumn. Before you know where you are he has disappeared, and
the crushing darkness of the Arctic night surrounds you once more.
On September I2th we should have seen the midnight sun
for the last time if it had been clear ; and no later than October
8th we caught the last glimpse of the sun's rim at midday.
Thus we plunged into the longest Arctic night any human
beings have yet lived through, in about 85° north latitude.
Henceforth there was nothing that could for a moment be
called daylight, and by October 26th there was scarcely any
perceptible difference between day and night.
Whenever time permitted and the surface was at all favorable
we wandered about on snow-shoes in the neighborhood of the
ship, either singly or several together. On October 7th, when
all of us were out snow-shoeing in the morning, the mate found
a log of drift-wood 7 feet long and 7 inches thick. Part of the
root was still attached to the trunk. The mate and I went out
in the afternoon and brought it in on a hand-sledge. No doubt
it had grown in one of the Siberian forests, had been swept away
by a flood or by the current of a river, and carried out to sea to
be conveyed hither by the drift-ice.
Besides snow-shoeing, we also took frequent walks on the ice,
AUGUST 15 TO JANUARY /, 1896 667
and on November 20th I gave orders that every man should take
two hours* exercise a day in the fresh air. I myself was very
fond of these walks, which freshened up both soul and body,
and I often wandered backward and forward on the ice four or
five hours a day — as a rule, two hours in the morning and two in
the afternoon.
On October 8th Scott-Hansen and Mogstad made an experi-
ment in dragging sledges with 230 pounds of freight. They
started at half-past nine and returned at five in the afternoon,
after having been about four miles from the ship, and traversed
pretty heavy country.
We did not believe, indeed, that the Fram ran the slightest
risk of being crushed in any ice-pressure ; but it was obviously
possible, or at least conceivable^ so that it was our duty to be pre-
pared for all contingencies. Accordingly we devoted much labor
and care to securing ourselves against being taken by surprise.
At the end of October we established a new depot on the ice
consisting of provisions for six months, with a full equipment of
sledges, kayaks, snow-shoes, etc. The provisions were divided
into five different piles, and stacked so that the boxes in each
pile formed an arch. Thus stored, not more than two cases
could well be lost even if the worst happened, and the ice split
up right under the heap. The provisions consisted partly of
pemmican, as may be seen by the list quoted — a very nutritious
article of diet, which makes an excellent sort of Irish stew (lob-
scouse). With 200 grammes of pemmican, 100 grammes of bread,
and 120 grammes of potatoes you can make a very satisfying and
palatable dish.
On November 28th we passed the sixtieth degree of longi-
tude, and celebrated the occasion by a little feast. The saloon
was decorated with flags, and a rather more sumptuous dinner
than usual was served, with coffee after it, while supper was fol-
lowed by a dessert of fruits and preserves. This meridian passes
near Cape Fligely in Franz Josef Land, and through Khabarova,
where we two years ago had bidden farewell to the last faint
traces of civilization. So it seemed as though we really felt our-
selves nearer the world and life.
CHAPTER IV
January i to May 17, 1896
New-year*s-day came with fine, clear weather, moonh'ght,
and about 43 degrees of cold. The ice kept remarkably quiet
for about a month, but on February 4th the pressure com-
menced again. It was not of long duration, but made a great
noise while it lasted; the ice all round us roared and screamed
as if a tremendous gale were blowing. I took a walk on the
ice for the purpose, if possible, of observing the pressure more
closely, but could see nothing. The following day we again
sallied forth on the ice, and found a comparatively new channel
and a large new pressure-ridge about a mile from the ship. It
was impossible, however, to get any comprehensive view of the
state of the ice, as it was still too dark, even at midday. The
surface of the snow was hard and good, but the hollow edges of
the snow-drifts were so deceptive that we every now and then
tumbled head over heels.
On February 7th Scott-Hansen, Henriksen, Amundsen, and
myself took a run northward from the ship. The farther north
we went the more broken and uneven the ice became, and at
last we had to turn, as we came to a new and wide lane. Dur-
ing the morning a dark bank of clouds had been gathering in
the southwest, and now the fog got so thick that it was not easy
to find our way back to the ship again. At last we heard the
voice of **Sussi," and from the top of a pressure-ridge which we
ascended we got sight of the crow's-nest and the main-topmast
of the Fram, towering above the fog, only a little way off. Close
as we were to the ship, it was not so easy to get on board again.
We were stopped by a large lane which had formed just abaft
JANUARY I TO MAY 17, 1896 669
the ship during our absence, and we had to skirt it a long way
westward before we could cross it. Those on board told us
that the opening of the lane had given the ship a great shock,
very much like the shock felt when we blasted the Fram loose
in August. At 12.30 at night we felt another shock in the ice.
When we came on deck we found that the ice had cracked
about 30 yards abaft the ship, parallel with the large lane. The
crack passed along the side of the nearest long-boat, and right
through one of the coal-heaps. On the heap a barrel was stand-
ing, which would have been lost if the crack had not divided
itself in front of it at about right angles and then joined again,
after passing through the outer edges of the heap. On the
island thus formed the barrel and some coal-bags floated about
in the channel. However, we soon got the island hooked to
shore, and the coals were all saved, with the exception of a sack
of one hundredweight, which went to the bottom. By way of
making sure, I gave orders that the depot should be inspected
once during each watch, or oftener if the pressure began again.
On February 13th Henriksen, Amundsen, and I made an ex-
pedition southward to examine into the state of the ice in that
direction. We found that it was very uneven there, too, and full
of comparatively new lanes. The channel abaft the ship widened
during the forenoon, and gave off such masses of fog that we
soon lost sight of the ship. The next day it opened still more,
and on the i6th there was a very strong pressure in it. The
ice trembled and roared like a great waterfall, and splintered into
small horizontal flakes on the surface. The pressure was repeated
almost every day, and more cracks and lanes were constantly to
be seen for some time. But after that the ice was compara-
tively quiet until April loth, when it again began to be very rest-
less. On the night of the 15th the pressure was very strong in
the lane on the port side. We were obliged to haul up the
log-line with the bag and shift the sounding apparatus. The
same night the ice split under two of the provision depots,
so that we had to get them closer to the ship.
On the morning of the 21st we were awakened by a violent
pressure astern. Nordahl came down and woke me, saying that
670 APPENDIX
the ice threatened to rush in over the vessel. We found that
a tremendous ice-floe had been pressed up over the edge of
the ice astern, and came gliding along unchecked until it ran
right against our stern. But the Fram had borne shocks like
this before, and now again she held her own well. The ice was
split against the strong stern, and lay shattered on both sides
of the ship on a level with the edge of the half-deck all the
way forward to the mizzen-shrouds. The ship now lay almost
loose in her berth, and the ice round about was broken up into
a mass of smaller floes. As these were passed down by the
heavy drifts, it was hard work to get round the ship, as one ran
the risk of plumping down into the slush at any moment.
Late in the afternoon of May 13th the lane between the
forge and the ship began to widen very much, so that in a
couple of hours* time it was about 90 yards wide. From the
crow's-nest I saw on the southeast a large channel extending
southward as far as I could see, and the channel abaft us ex-
tended to the northeast as far as my sight could reach. I
therefore went out in the " pram " to try to find a passage
through to the channel on the southeast, but without result.
After supper I was off again southward, but I could not find
any thoroughfare. At 10 o'clock in the evening I again went up
in the crow's-nest, and now saw that the channel had widened
considerably and reached away southward as far as the eye could
reach, with dark air over it.
Scott-Hansen and I deliberated as to what was to be done.
Although I did not believe it would do much good under the
circumstances, we decided upon an attempt to blast the vessel
free. We agreed to try some mines right aft, and all hands were
at once put to this work. First we fired six powder-mines at
about the same spot, but without much result. Then we made
an unsuccessful trial with gun-cotton. At 3 o'clock in the morn-
ing we concluded operations for the time being, as the ice was
so thick that the drill did not reach through, and the slush so
bad that it was impossible to get the ice-floes shoved away. At
8 o'clock the next morning we laid two new mines, which Scott-
Hansen and Nordahl had made ready during the night, but
JANUARY I TO MAY 17, 1896 671
neither of them would go off. One or two of the mines which
we had fired during the day had produced some effect, but so
little that it was not worth while to continue. We were obliged
to wait for a more favorable condition of the ice.
The weather during the two first weeks of January was settled
and good, with clear air and 40 to 50 degrees of cold. The cold-
est day was January 15th, when the thermometer showed from
-50° C. (-58° Fahr.) to -52° C. (-61.6° Fahr.). The last two
weeks of January the temperature was considerably higher, but
dropped again in February, until on the 13th it was about —48°
C. (—54.4° Fahr.), after which it was somewhat higher: about
— 35° C. (—41° Fahr.) during the remainder of February. On
March 5th the thermometer again showed 40 degrees of cold ;
but from that time the temperature rose quickly. Thus on
March 12th it was —12°, on the 27th —6°, with a few colder
days of course now and then. April was somewhat cold through-
out, about —25°; the coldest day was the 13th, with —34°. The
first week of May was also somewhat cold, about —20° to —25°,
the second week somewhat milder, about —14°, and on May 21st
we had the first rise above freezing-point of this year, the maxi-
mum thermometer showing at the evening observation +0.9°.
Some days during this winter were remarkable for very great
and sudden changes in temperature. One instance was Friday,
February 21st. In the morning it was cloudy, with a stiff breeze
from the southeast. Late in the afternoon the wind suddenly
changed to the southwest, and slackened off to a velocity of 14
feet ; and the temperature went down from — 7° in the morning
to —25° shortly before the change in the wind, rapidly rising
again to —6.2° at 8 o'clock P.M.
In my Journal I wrote of this day as follows: ** I was walk-
ing on deck to-night, and before I went down had a lookout
astern. When I put my head out of the tent I felt so warm a
current of air that my first thought was that there must be fire
somewhere on board. I soon made out, however, that it was
the temperature which had risen so greatly since I was under
the open sky. Scott- Hansen and I afterwards went up and
placed a thermometer under the ship's tent, where it showed
6/2 APPENDIX
— 19°, while the thermometer outside showed only — 6^ We
walked for some time backward and forward, and breathed
the warm air in deep draughts. It was beyond all description
pleasant to feel the mild wind caress one's cheek. Yes,* there is
a great difference between living in such a temperature and
daily breathing an air 40° to 50° below freezing-point. Person-
ally, I am not very much incommoded by it, but many com-
plain that they feel a pain deep in the chest. I only find when
I have been taking a good deal of exercise that my mouth is
parched."
The following day, February 22d, it first blew from the
S.S.E., but later the wind changed to half a gale from the
west, with a velocity of 55 feet per second. The barometer
showed the lowest reading during the whole voyage up till
then — namely, 723.6 mm. The air was so full of drifting snow
that we could not see 6 feet from the ship, and the thermom-
eter-house out on the ice was in a few minutes so packed with
drift-snow that it was impossible to read off the instruments.
It was not very comfortable down in the saloon, as it was
impossible to create any draught. We made unsuccessful
attempts to light the stoves, but soon had to take the fire
away, to prevent suffocation by smoke. Sunday night the
storm abated, but on Monday and Tuesday there was again
half a gale, with snowfall and drift, and nearly 28 degrees
of frost. Not before Wednesday afternoon did the weather
improve in earnest ; it then cleared up, and the wind slackened
to 20 feet, so both we and the dogs could get out on the ice
and take a little exercise. The dogs wanted to get out of their
kennels in the morning, but even they found the weather too
bad, and slunk in again.
We had a good many rough-weather days like this, not only
in the winter, but also in the summer ; but as a rule the rough
weather lasted only a day at a time, and did not involve any
great discomfort. On the contrary, we had no objection to a
little rough weather, especially when it was accompanied by a
fresh breeze that might drift the ice speedily westward. Of
course, what most interested us was the drifting and everything
JANUARY I TO MAY 17, 1896 675
connected with it. Our spirits were often far better in rough
weather than on glittering days of clear weather, with only a
slight breeze or a calm and a brilliant aurora borealis at night.
With the drift we had reason to be well satisfied, especially
in January and the first week in February. During that time
we drifted all the way from the 48th to the 25th degree of
longitude, while our latitude kept steady — about 84° 50'. The
best drift we had was from January 28th to February 3d, when
there was a constant stiff breeze blowing from the east, which
on Sunday, February 2d, increased to a speed of 58 feet 6
inches to 69 feet a second, or even more during squalls. This
was, however, the only real gale during the whole of our voyage.
On Saturday, February ist, we passed the longitude of Vardo,
and celebrated the occasion by some festivities in the evening.
On February 15th we were in 84° 20' north latitude and 23°
28' east longitude, and we now drifted some distance back, so
that on February 29th we were in 27° east longitude. After-
wards the drift westward was very slow, but it was better tow-
ards the south, so that on May i6th we were at 83° 45' north
latitude and 12° 50' east longitude.
The drift gave occasion to many bets, especially when it was
good, and spirits proportionately high. One day at the end of
January, when the line showed that we were drifting briskly in
the right direction, Henriksen found his voice and said : " We
have never made a bet before, captain ; suppose we make a bet
now as to how far south we have got." " All right," I said, and
we accordingly made a bet of a ration of salmon, I that we were
not south of 84"" 40', or between 40' and 41', and he said we
were between 36' and 37'. Scott-Hansen then took an observa-
tion, and found that Henriksen had lost. The latitude was 84°
40.2'.
Since the last bird of passage left us we had nowhere seen a
single living creature, right up to February 28th. Not even a
bear had been seen during our many rambles on the ice.
At 6 A.M. Pettersen came rushing into the cabin, and told me
that he saw two bears near the ship. I hurried up on deck, but
it was still so dark that I could not at once get sight of them.
6/6 APPENDIX
although Pettersen was pointing in their direction. At last I
saw them trotting along slowly towards the ship. About 150
yards away they stopped. I tried to take aim at them, but as it
was still too dark to be sure of my shot, I waited a little, hop-
ing that they would come nearer. They stood for a time staring
at the ship, but then wheeled round and sneaked off again. I
asked Pettersen if he had something to fry which would smell
really nice and strong and attract the bears back. He stood
ruminating a little, then ran down-stairs, and came up again
with a pan of fried butter and onions. " I am blowed if I haven't
got something savory for them," he said, and tossed the pan
up on the rail. The bears had long been out of sight. It was
cold, 35 degrees I should think, and I hurried down to get my
fur coat on, but before I had done so Bentzen came running
down and told me to make haste, as the bears were coming
back. We tore on deck at full speed, and now had the animals
well within range, about 100 yards away. I squatted down be-
hind the rail, took a good aim, and — missed fire. The bears
were a little startled, and seemed to be contemplating a retreat.
I quickly cocked the rifle again and fired at the largest one.
It fell head over heels, with a tremendous roar. Then I fired
at the second one. It first turned a fine somersault before it fell.
After that they both got up and took a few steps forward, but
then they both came down again. I gave them each one of the
two cartridges I had left, but still this was not enough for these
long-lived animals. Pettersen was very much interested in the
sport. Without any weapon he ran down the gangway and
away towards the bears, but then he suddenly had misgivings
and called to Bentzen to follow him. Bentzen, who had no
weapons either, was naturally not very keen about running
after two wounded bears. After getting some more cartridges
I met Pettersen midway between the bears and the Fram, The
animals were now crawling along a pressure-ridge. I stopped
at a distance of 30 yards, but first of all I had to shout to Pet-
tersen, who, in his eagerness, hurried on before me, and now
stood just in the line of fire. At last the great she-bear got
her death-wound, and I ran along the pressure-ridge in order
JANUARY I TO MAY 17, 1896 677
to see where the other one had got to. Suddenly it stuck its
head up over the ridge, and I at once sent a shot through its
neck close up to the head.
All hands were then called out, and great was the rejoicing.
Our mouths watered at the thought of the delicious fresh meat
we should now enjoy for a long time. It was about 16 months
since we had last shot a bear, and for 14 months we had not had
any fresh meat, except one or two dishes of seals and birds shot
during the summer. We blessed Pettersen's savory frying-pan.
The bears were cut up and made into steaks, rissoles, roasts, etc.
Even the bones we laid aside to make soup of. The ribs were
the most succulent. We had them for dinner, and everybody
voted that a sirloin of bear was a dish for a king. Accordingly
we all ate very large helpings, with heartfelt wishes that it might
not be long before some bears again paid us a visit.
After this Pettersen became so infatuated with bear-hunting
that he talked of it early and late. One day he got it into his
head that some bears would come during the night. He had
such a belief in his forebodings that he made all possible prep-
arations for the night and got Bentzen to join forces with him.
Bentzen had the morning watch, and was to call him as soon as
the bears appeared. A merry fellow, who wanted to make sure
of seeing Pettersen bear-hunting, had taken the precaution to
hang a little bell on Bentzen's rifle, so that he could hear when
they started. Unfortunately no bear appeared. Pettersen, how-
ever, had so set his heart on shooting a bear, that I had to prom-
ise to let him have a shot some time when I myself was by and
had a charge ready, in case the inconceivable should happen, and
Pettersen should miss — a mishap which he would find it very
hard to get over.
On Sunday, March 8th, we had another instance of a sudden
change in temperature like that of February 21st. In the morn-
ing it was cloudy, with a fresh breeze from the E.N.E., but at 3
P.M. the wind fell, and at 6 o'clock changed to a light S.S.E.
breeze. At the same time the temperature rose from —26° to
— 8°, and it was very pleasant to saunter round on the half-deck
in the evening and breathe the mild air.
678 APPENDIX
On March 4th we saw the sun for the first time. It should
have been visible the day before, but then it was too cloudy. By
way of compensation it was now a double festival day, as we
could celebrate both the return of the sun and Nordahl's birth-
day in one.
On March 14th it was one year since Nansen and Johansen
commenced their long ice-journey. The day was celebrated by
a better dinner, with coffee afterwards and a punch-bowl in the
evening.
Besides the usual scientific observations, which were con-
tinued without any interruptions worth mentioning, we also
took soundings during the winter, but did not reach bottom
with a 3000-metre line (1625 fathoms).
On April 13th Scott-Hansen and I took an observation with
the theodolite, and Nordahl an observation with the sextant,
on the natural horizon. According to the theodolite, the
latitude was 84"" 11.5', and by the sextant 84° 13'. We had
previously ascertained that there was a difference of about two
minutes between the artificial and natural horizons. In using
the natural horizon a smaller latitude is obtained, even though
there is no mirage. The deviation will, however, under favor-
able circumstances, seldom exceed two minutes. But if there
is much mirage, it becomes almost impossible to obtain a fairly
correct result. As a rule, therefore, in taking observations in
the drift-ice, one has to use the artificial horizon or theodolite,
if a very exact result is desired.
As the time passed on towards spring the days became
longer, and more rifts and channels were formed round the
ship. It was time to think of beginning preparations for forc-
ing the Fram ahead as soon as sufficiently large openings
should appear in the ice. The things stored on the ice had
been frequently shifted about in the course of the winter, but
as the ice became more broken up, it was of little use to shift
them. So in the middle of April we took the winter depot on
board and stowed it away in the main hold. We also took on
board the sacks from the coal depot, while the barrels and
hogsheads, together with the dog-biscuits, kayaks, and sledges,
JANUARY I TO MAY 17, 1896 681
were for the present left upon the ice. The sun at this time
became so strong that on April 19th the snow began to melt
away on the tent : along the ship's side it had been melting for
several days.
The first harbinger of spring we saw this year was a snow-
bunting, which made its appearance on the evening of April
25th. It took up permanent quarters in one of the sealing-
boats, where it was treated with groats and scraps of food, and
soon got very tame. It favored us with its presence for several
days, and then flew away. The Frani had evidently been a
welcome resting-place for it ; it had eaten its fill, and gathered
new strength for the remainder of its journey. On May 3d we
were again visited by a snow-bunting, and a couple of days later
by two more. I fancy it was our former guest, who in the
meantime had found its mate, and now returned with her to
call and thank us for our hospitality. They remained with us
about an hour, and did their best to cheer us with their chirping
and twittering; but as the dogs would not give them any peace,
but chased them everywhere, they finally took flight, and did
not return again.
After the first few days in May we removed the temporary
deck, which had been laid over the davits, cleared the main-
deck, and took both the sealing-boats and the long-boats on
board. The gangway was also removed, and a ladder put in its
place. Next we shipped the rest of the coal depot, the dog
provisions, and the sledges ; in fact, we took in everything that
was left on the ice. All that was now left to be done was to
get the engine ready for getting up steam, and this we set
about on May i8th.
The dogs got on well in their kennels on the ice, in spite of
the prolonged and strong cold, and we had very little trouble
with them. But after the first month in the new year some of
the bigger dogs became so fierce towards the smaller ones that
we had to take two of the worst tyrants on board and keep
them locked up for a time. They also did a good deal of mis-
chief whenever they had an opportunity. One day, for instance,
they began to gnaw at the kayaks that were placed on the top
682
APPENDIX
of the largest dog-kennel. However, we got hold of them in
time before any serious damage was done, and cleared away the
snow round the kennel, so that they could not climb up again to
go on with this amusement.
On February loth one of "Sussi's" puppies littered. We
took her on board, and laid her in a large box filled with shav-
ings. VVe allowed her to keep only one of her five pups; we
killed two at once, one was bom dead, and she had devoured
her first-born, the cannibal !
Some days later "Kara" had a litter. She was the only one
of the dogs who manifested any maternal instinct. It was quite
touching to see her, and we felt sorry to have to take the pups
away from her; but we were forced to make away with them,
not only because it was impossible to bring them up at that
time of the year, but also because the mother herself was only a
puppy, delicate and diminutive.
In the beginning of March the October whelps were let out
all day, and on March 5*^ we put them, with the older dogs,
under the hood of the fore-companion. In the evening the
cover was put on, and when during the night the hole near the
edge of the ice became filled up with snow, it got so warm in
the hutch that the hoar-frost and ice melted and all the dogs got
wet. The pups felt the cold terribly when they were let out in
the morning, and we therefore took them down into the saloon
until they were warm again.
CHAPTER V
THE THIRD SUMMER
On the Seventeenth of May the Fram was in about 83° 45'
north latitude and 12° 50' east longitude. We again celebrated
the day with a flag procession, as on the previous Seventeenth of
May. Mogstad sat on the bearskins in the sledge, driving a
team of seven dogs, and with the band (/>., Bentzen) at his side.
Just as we were arranging the procession for the march upon
the ice, five female narwhals suddenly appeared, and immediately
afterwards a small seal was seen in the lane abreast of the ship
— an enlivening sight, which we accepted as a good omen for
the coming summer.
The great hummock, which was the scene of our merry-mak-
ings on the Seventeenth of May last year, was now so far away
and so difficult to reach on account of lanes and rugged ice that
the festivities in the open air were limited to the flag procession.
The cortege took its way southward, past the thermometer-hut,
to the lane, thence northward along the lane, and then back to
the ship, where it dispersed, but not before it had been photo-
graphed.
At 12 o'clock a salute was fired, after which we sat down to
an excellent dinner, with genuine ** Chateau la Franiy' vintage
1896.* The table was laid with great taste, and there was an
elegant paper napkin at each cover, with the word Fram in the
corner and the following inscription :
* This claret was made for the occasion, and consisted of the juice of
dried red whortleberries and bilberries, with the addition of a little spirits.
I was highly complimented on this beverage, and served it again on other
occasions.
684 APPENDIX
" The Seventeenth May. our memorial day,
Recalls what our fathers have done ;
It cheers us and heartens us on to the fray,
And shows us that where there's a will there's a way.
And, with right on our side, we may hope to display
The proud banner of victory won."
During the dinner speeches were made in honor of the day, of
Norway, of Nansen and Johansen, etc.
During the days following May 17th we were occupied in
getting the engine and its appurtenances ready for work and
clearing the rudder-well and the propeller-well. First we at-
tempted to pump water into the boiler through a hose let down
into a hole out upon the ice. But the cold was still so intense
that the water froze in the pump. We were obliged to carry
water in buckets and pour it into the boiler by means of a
canvas hose, made for the occasion and carried from the boiler
to the hatchway above the engine-room. Amundsen thought
at first that he had got the bottom cock clear so that he could
let the water run direct into the boiler, but it soon became
evident that it was too slow work as long as there was still any
ice around the cock. Later on we hoisted the funnel and
lighted the furnaces, and on the afternoon of May 19th the
steam was up for the first time since we got into the ice in the
autumn of 1893.
Next we cut away as much of the ice as possible in the pro-
peller-well, and carried a steam hose down into it. It was very
effectual. We also attempted to use the steam for melting
away the ice in the propeller-sheath around the shaft, but with-
out apparent success. We easily procured water for the boiler
now by filling the water-tank on the deck with ice and melting
it with steam.
After supper we went down into the engine-room to try to
turn the shaft, and finally we succeeded in giving it a three-
quarters turn. This was victory, and we were all fully satisfied
with the day's work.
The following day we melted away the ice in the rudder-well
by steam, and at 1.30 P.M. Amundsen began to "move** the
THE THIRD SUMMER 685
engine. Some large pieces of ice floated up from the rudder-
stock or frame ; we fished them up, and everything was in order.
Amundsen let the engine work some time, and everybody was
down with him to see the wonder with their own eyes, and to
be convinced that he really had got it to turn round.
This was quite an event for us. It filled us with renewed
courage and hope of soon getting out of our long captivity,
though the way might be ever so long and weary. The Fram
was no longer a helpless ball, tossed to and fro at the caprice of
the drift-ice. Our gallant ship had awakened to renewed life
after her year- long winter sleep, and we rejoiced to feel the
first pulsations of her strongly beating heart. It seemed as if
the Fram understood us, and wanted to say : ** Onward ! south-
ward ! homeward !"
The state of the ice around the ship, however, was still far
from being so favorable as to give us any prospect of getting
out just at present. It is true that symptoms of spring began
to show themselves ; the temperature rose, and the snow van-
ished rapidly ; but we still remained at about the same latitude
where we had been lying for months — namely, at about 84°.
From the crow's-nest, indeed, we could see a large channel, which
extended southward as far as the eye could reach ; but to get
through the belt of ice, over 200 yards wide, which separated
us from it, was impossible before the thick pack-ice slackened
somewhat. We therefore made no attempt to blast the ship
free, but devoted our time to various duties on board, did what-
ever was left undone, got the steam windlass in order, examined
all our cordage, and so forth.
In the hole in the ice which was always kept open for the
striking of the log -line, we had placed the heads of the two
bears, so that the amphipodes might pick off the meat for
us, a task which they usually perform quickly and effectually.
One day, when a swarm of amphipodes appeared above the
bears* heads, Scott-Hansen caught a lot of them in a bag-net,
and had them cooked for supper, intending to give us a regular
treat. But we were sadly disappointed. There was not a par-
ticle of meat on the miserable creatures — nothing but shells and
686 APPENDIX
emptiness. If we put a couple of dozen into our mouths at a
time they tasted somewhat like shrimps. But I am afraid that
were we limited to such fare, and nothing else, we should soon
diminish unpleasantly in weight.
In the later days of May the prospects became brighter, as
the wind changed to half a gale from the east and north. The
ice began to drift slowly towards the southwest, and continued
to slacken at the same time, so that on May 29th we could
see to the southward a good deal of open water, with dark air
above, as far as the eye could reach.
After several requests had been made to me, I decided to
make an attempt at blasting the vessel clear. At i P.M. we set
off a mine of 1 10 pounds of gunpowder. It had an astonishing-
ly good effect, wrenching up heavy masses of ice and sending
them rushing out into the channel. Our hopes revived, and it
really seemed that another such blasting would entirely liberate
the vessel. Immediately after dinner we went to work to lay
out another large mine 20 yards abaft the stern. It gave us an
incredible amount of work to make a hole in the ice to get the
charge down. We first bored a hole; then we tried to make it
larger by blowing it out by means of small gunpowder charges,
and later with gun-cotton ; but it was of no avail. Then we had
to resort to lances, ice-picks, steam — in short, to every possible
means ; but all in vain. The ice had, however, got so cracked in
all directions, owing to the many charges which had been ex-
ploded in the same place, that we presumed that a large mine
in the log-line hole would blow up the whole mass. As the ice
was thinner at that part, the mine was lowered to a depth of 10
yards. It exploded with terrific effect. A mighty column of
water was forced as high as the foretop. It did not consist of
water alone, but contained a good many lumps of ice, which
rained down for some distance round. One piece of over one
hundredweight came down right through the tent and on to
the forecastle ; other pieces flew over the vessel, and fell on the
starboard side. Scott-Hansen and Henriksen, who were stand-
ing on the ice at the electric battery used for firing the mine,
were not pleasantly situated when the mine exploded. When
THE THIRD SUMMER 687
the shock came they of course started to run as fast as their
legs would carry them, but they did not get away quickly
enough to reach the deep snow. The pieces of ice rained un-
mercifully down upon their backs. After a great deal of trouble
we laid and fired two other large gunpowder mines, besides some
smaller ones, but without much effect. We then began to bore
holes for two gun-cotton mines, which were to be fired simul-
taneously. But when we had got down two and a half drill-
lengths the screw broke, and before we could proceed new
grooves had to be filed on the other drill before we could use
it again. At 12 o'clock at night we knocked off work, after
having been at it unceasingly since the morning.
Next day at 6 o'clock the boring was continued. But the ice
was so hard and difficult to work at that, although four men
were handling the drill, we had to erect a small crane with tackle
to hoist the drill out every time it got clogged up. The ice was
so thick that it took four drill-lengths (about 20 feet) to make a
hole through it. One of the gun-cotton mines was now lowered
into the hole, while the other was put beneath the edge of an
old channel by means of a long pole. Both mines were fired
simultaneously, but only one exploded. We connected the
wires, and then the other went off too. But the result was far
from answering our expectations. Although the large mines
were carried down to a depth of 20 yards where the ice was
thin, the resistance was too great for us.
The blasting was now discontinued till June 2d, when during
the night the ice opened up along the old lane close to the vessel.
First we fired a gun-cotton mine right abaft. It took effect, and
split the ice close to the stern. Next we drilled a hole about 16
feet deep right abreast of the ship, and loaded it with 10 prismer,
or 330 grammes, of gun-cotton (equivalent to about 30 pounds of
ordinary gunpowder) ; but as I thought it would be too risky to
explode a mine of this strength so near the vessel, we first fired a
small gunpowder mine of 1 1 pounds, to see what effect it would
have. The result was insignificant, so the large mine was fired.
It made things lively indeed ! The ship received such a shock
that one of the paintings and a rifle fell down on the floor in the
688 APPEXDIX
saloon, and the clock in mv cabcn was hurled from the walL It
was evidently felt v:i the engine-room as welL for Amundsen had
a bottle and a lamp-chimney smashed. On the ice the explosion
took such go-xi effect that the ship nearly broke loose at one
blow : she was now merely hanging on a little forward and aft.
With a little more work we might have got quite clear the same
evening, but I left her as she was to avoid the trouble of moor-
ing her. Instead of that we had something extra after supper :
we considered that we had done such a good stroke of work that
dav that we deserved a reward.
Next morning we blew away the ice that held our bow. I my-
self took a pickaxe and commenced to hack away at the ice
which held the stem fast. I had hardiv been at work at this for
more than four or five minutes before the vessel suddenly gave
a lurch, settled a little deeper at the stem, and moved away from
the ^^^ of the ice. until the hawsers became taut. She now lay
about 6 inches higher at the bow than when she froze fast in
the autumn. Thus the Fram was free, and ready to force her
way through the ice as soon as the circumstances would permit.
But we were still unable to move.
Even in the month of May there had been signs of whales
and seals in the channels, and an occasional sea-bird had also put
in an appearance. During the months of June and July there
was still more animal life around us, so that we could soon go in
for huntin$[ to our hearts' content. During the summer we not
only shot a number of fulmars, black guillemots, skuas^ auks«
and little auks, but also a couple of eider-ducks, and even a brace
of broad-beaked snipe. We also shot a number of small seals,
but only got hold of six ; the others sank so rapidly that we
could not reach them in time. As a matter of course, we wel-
comed everj- opportunitj- of a hunting expedition, especially
when there was a bear in the case. It was not often he did
us the honor, but the neater was the excitement and interest
when his appearance was announced. Then the lads would
get lively, and hastily prepare to give the \-isitor a suitable re-
ception. .\Itogether we killed sixteen or seventeen full-groift-n
bears during the summer, and a young one, which we capt-
THE THIRD SUMMER 689
*
ured alive, but had to kill later on, as it made a fearful noise on
board.
One night in the beginning of June, when Henriksen was on
his way to the observation-house to take the readings of the
instruments, a bear suddenly came upon him. Before starting
on his scientific quest he had been prudent enough to go up on
the bridge to have a look around and see whether the coast was
clear, but he did not observe anything suspicious. When he
approached the observation-house he suddenly heard a hissing
sound close by, and caught sight of a grinning bear, which was
standing at a pressure-ridge staring at him. Naturally Henrik-
sen felt anything but comfortable at this unexpected meeting,
unarmed as he was. He at first considered whether he should
beat a dignified retreat, or whether he should fly at the top of
his speed. Both parties were equally far from the vessel, and
if the bear had evil intentions it might be advisable to retreat
without delay before he approached any nearer. He started off
as fast as he could, and was not sure whether the beast was not
at his heels; but he reached the vessel safely and seized his gun,
which was standing ready on deck. Before he came out upon
the ice again the dogs had scented the bear, and at once at-
tacked him. The bear at first jumped up on the observation-
house, but the dogs followed, so down he went again, and with
such alacrity, too, that Henriksen had no time to fire. The bear
started off to the nearest channel, where he disappeared both
from the dogs and the hunter. In his eagerness " Gorm **
jumped out upon some pieces of ice which were floating in the
thick brash in the channel, and now he was afraid to jump back
again. There he sat howling. I heard the wailing, and soon
caught sight of him from the crow's-nest, whereupon Scott-
Hansen and I started off and rescued him.
Some days later, at about 10 o'clock in the morning, we
heard Nordahl crying, " Bear !'* and all hurried on deck with our
rifles. But the dogs had had the start of us, and had already
put the bears to flight. Mogstad perceived, however, from the
crow*s-nest, that the dogs had come up with them at a small
lane, where they had taken the water, and he then came down
n-44
690 APPENDIX
to tell me. He and I started off in pursuit. The condition
of the ice was good, and we made rapid progress ; but as we
had the wind on our side, it was some time before we could
distinguish the barking of the dogs so as to be able to guide
ourselves by it. Presently I caught sight of one of the dogs be-
hind a small ridge ; soon I saw some more, and at last I sighted
the bears. They were both sitting on a floe in the channel,
leaning with their backs against a big piece of ice. Two of the
dogs had jumped out upon the floe, while the others stood on
guard round the channel or pool. The dogs had played their
part well, keeping such a close watch upon the bears that we
had no difficulty in giving them their quietus. They both tum-
bled over on the spot ; but as they moved slightly, we gave
them a final shot, just to make sure.
Well, there they lay. But to get out to them was not so
easy. Finally, having walked round the pool, we succeeded in
getting out upon the floe from the other side, where the dis-
tance from the solid ice was less and where some small floes
formed a kind of bridge. We cleaned the game, and then
tried to haul the bodies over upon the solid ice. This we ac-
complished by putting a running noose over the muzzles of the
bears and pulling them through the water to the edge of the
ice, where we pushed some small floes beneath them ; and then,
with our united strength, we hauled them up. When home-
ward bound we met Nordahl, Pettersen, Bentzen, Henriksen,
and the mate, who had guessed from the report of our guns
that there was business on hand, and had started out to meet
us with sledges and harness for the dogs. The sledges were
lashed together, one bear was placed on each, and, with nine
dogs harnessed to them and a man sitting astride each bear, off
they went at such a speed that the rest of us had to run to keep
pace with them.
On the night of June 24th we again received a visit from
two bears. Nordahl discovered them when, at 12 o'clock, he went
out to the observation-house ; he came running back, and called
those who had not yet gone to bed. But when they hurried out
upon the ice the bears saw them immediately and disappeared.
THE THIRD SUMMER 691
Three days later a she-bear, with a young cub, came trotting
towards the vessel at noon. We burned some blubber in order
to attract them, but the bear was very cautious, and it was
some time before she approached to within 200 to 300 yards.
Then the mate could not restrain himself any longer and fired,
so the rest of us sent her a few shots at the same time, and she
fell after walking a few paces. Some of us took the " pram "
and pulled across to the place, as there was a wide channel be-
tween the bear and the vessel. The cub, poor thing, was a fine
little fellow, with almost perfectly white fur and a dark muzzle ;
it was about the size of one of our smallest dogs. When they
came up, he sat down on his mother's body, remained there
quite still, and seeming for the present to take matters calmly.
Henriksen put a strap around his neck, and when the mother
was conveyed to the channel he followed quite willingly, and
sat down on her back again when she was towed across. But
when, on arriving at the ship, he found he was to be separated
from his mother and brought on board, it was quite another
story. He resisted with all his strength, and was in a perfect
rage. He got worse when he was let loose under the com-
panion-hood on board. He carried on like a frenzied being,
biting, tearing, growling, and howling with wild rage, like a
veritable fiend, ceasing only as long as he was occupied in de-
vouring the pieces of meat thrown to him. Never have I seen
in any one creature such a combination of all the most sav-
age qualities of wild beasts as I found in this little monster.
And he was still quite a cub ! In the evening I gave orders to
rid us of this unpleasant passenger, and Mogstad ended his days
with a well-aimed blow of the hatchet.
For about a fortnight we saw no bears, but during the night
of July 1 2th we had a visit from three, one of which, after a hot
pursuit, was killed by Scott-Hansen, the mate, Nordahl, and
Bentzen. The dogs, too, did good service this time. The
other two bears sneaked ofT at the first shot, and were lost to
sight in the fog.
On the evening of July i8th Mogstad and I shot a bear,
which we should hardly have got hold of but for the sagacity
692 APPENDIX
and alacrity of " Bella." The dogs at first attacked him once
or twice, but after a short resistance he jumped into the water,
and crossed over two broad lanes, which it took the dogs a long
time to get round. He was just about to plunge into a third
channel when " Bella," who in the meantime had come round,
intercepted him not 20 feet from the edge. At a distance of
200 or 300 yards Mo'gstad fired, and was lucky enough to hit
him in the head, bringing him down, and he now made only
some feeble attempts to keep the dogs off. I then sent him a
shot behind the shoulder ; but, as he was not quite dead, Mog-
stad gave him the final one.
On July 20th the mate shot a large bear, which came swim-
ming across a channel ; and we killed our last bear on the even-
ing of August 6th, but in such an awkward position that we
had to leave the meat, and it was as much as we could do to
get the hide on board.
In the matter of birds, we were also pretty fortunate. For
instance, Scott-Hansen and I one night shot 9 little auks, i kit-
tiwake, and i skua, and the following day 21 more little auks
and 2 black guillemots. Henriksen in one day's shooting
bagged 18 little auks and i black guillemot, and Nordahl, 26
little auks and i black guillemot ; and, later on, when there had
been an abundance of game for some days, we killed as many
as 30 to 40 birds in the course of a few hours.
This hunting life had not only a beneficial effect upon our
spirits, which occasionally were rather low, but it also gave us
an appetite, which sometimes was quite ravenous. When we
were weighed at the end of the month we found that, whereas
some of us had previously been losing weight, we had now
steadily and uniformly increased from the time when auk's,
breast, roast guillemot, stewed kittiwake, skua soup, and last,
but not least, ribs of bear, became the daily fare on board.
Indeed, we stood in need of all the encouragement and good
living which our hunting procured us. The state of the ice was
anything but cheering, and the prospect of getting out of it
during the present year became less every day.
During the first days following the release of the Fram the
THE THIRD SUMMER 693
ice was comparatively quiet ; but on June 8th and 9th we had
some bad pressures, especially on the latter day, when the stern
of the vessel was pressed about 6 feet upward, so that the rud-
der-well was quite out of the water, while the bow was raised
about 2 feet, with 4° list to port. On the loth and nth the
pressure was also strong, especially during the night, from 11.30
P.M. till 3 or 4 A.M.
Finally the ice slackened so much on the morning of June
1 2th that there was a prospect of warping the vessel some dis-
tance ahead. As the brash was still very thick we did not
think it possible to haul ourselves along without using the
steam windlass, so I gave orders to start a fire under the boiler.
But before steam was up the channel opened so much that we
succeeded in warping the ship through the narrowest passage.
When steam was up we steamed through the pool, where I had
found a good berth for the ship. As the rudder was not yet
shipped I had sometimes to go astern, so as to be able to turn
the vessel. We remained there till June 14th, when the ice
slackened a little, and we saw a channel in a S.S.W. direction,
and determined to make for it. So we lighted the furnace,
shipped the rudder, and made at full speed for a narrow rift,
which led into the channel. Time after time we forced the
vessel into the rift, but all in vain: the edges would not budge
a hair's-breadth. I let the vessel remain for some time, working
at full speed endeavoring to force the rift, altering the position
of the rudder occasionally. This manoeuvre was partially suc-
cessful, as we ^ot the vessel into the rift as far as the fore-rigging.
But that was all we could do. The opening began to close up,
and we had to return and moor in the same place as before.
This was all the more provoking as the whole opening was not
longer than about three-fourths the ship's length.
We remained there till the evening of the 27th, when the
ice slackened so much that I decided to make a new attempt.
We got up steam and commenced to force the ice at 11. 30.
It was slow work in the heavy ice, and at 2 o'clock we had to
moor the ship, having advanced about 2 miles S.E. by S.
We tried the engine this time as a compound engine, with a
694 APPENDIX
favorable result. It made i6o revolutions per minute ; but the
consumptKMi of coal was of course correspondingly greater, al-
most twice as much as usual. We remained there about a
week, until on July 3d the ice opened sufficiently to allow us
to advance about 3 miles through a channel, which ran S.S.W.
During the night between the 6th and the 7th we made an-
other attempt to force the ice, but had only made about i mile
when we had to moor again.
The southerly wind which predominated at that time held
the ice thickly packed together, and there was no drift to speak
of. On the other hand, there had been since the middle of June
a good deal of current, owing to the set of the tide. We could
not, however, observe that the current really flowed in any
definite direction ; sometimes the line would show every point
in the compass during the twenty-four hours. The current was,
however, often very strong, and would occasionally spin the ice-
floes around in the channels in a way that made you uncomfort-
able to look at it. The ship, too, would often receive such
violent shocks from these dancing floes and blocks of ice that
loose objects tumbled down, and the whole rigging shook.
The sea continued very deep. For instance, on July 6th
we could not get bottom at 3000 metres (1625 fathoms); but
two days later — we were then about 83° 2' north latitude — we
took soundings and reached bottom at 3400 metres ( 1841
fathoms).
On July 6th we succeeded in warping the ship some two or
three short stretches at a time, but it was slow and hard work :
the ice was bad, and the contrary wind impeded us very much.
But though progress was slow, yet progress it was, and I gave
orders that the ship should be hauled along as often as there was
any opportunity to advance a little southward.
But although we struggled along in this manner by short
distances at a time, the observation on the 13th revealed to us
the fact that we had actually been drifting a considerable way
backward, having returned to 83° 12' north latitude. It might
seem ridiculous, under such circumstances, to continue pushing
forward ; but, gloomy as the prospects were, we tried to keep up
THE THIRD SUMMER 695
our hopes, and were ready to utilize the very first chance which
should present itself.
Late in the evening of July 17th the ice began to slacken so
much that we decided to get up steam. True, it closed up
again at once, but nevertheless we kept up steam. Nor were we
disappointed, for at i o'clock in the morning the water opened
so much that we were able to steam ahead, and we made 3
miles in a southerly direction. Later in the morning we were
stopped by an immense floe of ice, extending many miles; and
we had to make fast. The whole day following we remained
there. About midnight the ice slackened a good deal, but the
fog was so dense that we could see nothing. At last, on the
19th, we made what we considered excellent headway. Starting
when the fog lifted a little in the forenoon, we made about 10
miles from 12.30 P.M. till 8 P.M. This stroke of good luck made
our spirits revive wonderfully, and they rose still more the fol-
lowing day when, notwithstanding the fog and though we had
to stop three times, we advanced from 83** 14' in the morning
to 82° 52' at noon and 82° 39' midnight. From the 20th to the
27th we continued to make good progress. By midnight on the
last-named day we had reached 81° 32' north latitude.
From July 27th till August 2d it was slow and tiresome work.
By August 2d we had not got beyond 81° 26' north latitude.
At the same time we had been carried some distance eastward —
namely, to 13° 41' east longitude.
On Monday, August 3d, we made about 2 miles to the south-
west, but had to remain moored in impossible waters till the
8th, when it slackened so much around the vessel that we were
able to proceed again at 9 A.M. However, we had only made
about 6 miles, when we were stopped by a long, narrow strait.
We tried blasting with ordinary gunpowder, and later with gun-
cotton, and time after time we steamed full speed against the
smaller floes that blocked the strait, but without effect. These
floes, as a rule, are not so small and innocent as they appear.
They consist generally of the fragments of old, thick, and very
tough pressure-ridges which have been broken up. When these
pieces get free, they sink deep below the surface of the water,
696 APPENDIX
leaving only a comparatively insignificant part of them discerni-
ble, while the lower parts may be very large. It was precisely
this description of floe that blocked the channel against us.
They were so tough that it was useless to try to break them
with the stem of the vessel, although we repeatedly made at
them with full speed. We could plainly see how the tough old
ice bent and rose up at the shock without breaking. The blast-
ing of such floes was frequently impracticable, as they were of
such a thickness that we were unable to lay the mine under
them. And even if we succeeded in blowing up one of these
floes we gained little or nothing, as the channel was too narrow
to allow the pieces to float astern, and they were too heavy and
thick to be forced beneath the solid edge of ice.
Occasionally it happened that old, thick ice suddenly emerged
from beneath the water in a channel or opening which we were
just about to pass into, thus blocking up the passage before us.
On one of these occasions the Fram received a blow in the ribs
that hardly any other vessel would have withstood. As we
were passing through an open channel I saw from the crow's-
nest one end of a large submerged floe appearing above the edge
of the solid ice, and I immediately gave orders to steer clear so
as to pass round it. But at the very moment when we reckoned
to clear it the floe was released, and came to the surface with
such a rush that the spray rose high into the air and struck the
Fram at the fore-rigging on the starboard side with such tre-
mendous force that the ship lurched violently and fell about 10
points out of her course, until she ran up against some small
floes. When the monster floe emerged it lifted a huge mass of
water and sent it like a roaring cataract out into the channel.
Something similar happened when we occasionally touched a
drifting hummogk that was just on the point of rolling over,
owing to the quicker melting of the ice below the water-line.
The slightest push would be enough to capsize the hummock
and turn it over in such a violent way that the sea around us
would become as agitated as during a storm.
On August 9th we worked the whole day clearing the chan-
nel, but only made slight headway. On the loth the work was
THE THIRD SUMMER 699
continued, and in the course of the forenoon we finally suc-
ceeded in getting through. During the rest of the day we
also made some headway to the south until the ice became
impassable, and we were compelled to make fast at 10 P.M.,
having made about 2 miles.
On account of the fog we were unable to take any ob-
servation until the 9th, when we found ourselves in 81** 48'
north latitude, the last latitude observation we made in the
drift-ice.
On Tuesday, the i ith, we again proceeded southward by dint
of arduous labor in clearing floes and brash, which often blocked
our way. At 7.30 P.M. we had to make fast in a narrow strait,
until, in the course of the night, we cleared the obstacles away
and were able to proceed to the southwest. Progress was, how-
ever, slow, and on the morning of August 12th we were stopped
by a very awkward floe. We tried to blast it away, but while we
were at work on this the ice tightened up quickly, and left the
vessel imprisoned between two big floes. In the course of a
couple of hours it slackened again in a S.W. direction, and we
steamed off in comparatively fair channels until 12.30 P.M.,
when a floe stopped our farther progress. We had made 9J
miles in about five hours this forenoon. Some thin ice now ap-
peared, and from the crow*s-nest we could see, when the fog
cleared off a little for a few moments, several large channels run-
ning in a southerly direction both east and west of our position.
Besides, we noticed an increase in the number of birds and small
seals, and we also saw an occasional bearded seal — all evidences
that we could not be very far from the open water.
Between 3 and 4 P.M. we were released from the floes which
had held us enclosed, and at 5.30 P.M. we steamed off in a S.E.
direction through steadily improving ice. The ice now became
noticeably thin and brittle, so that we were able to force the
smaller floes. From 5.30 P.M. till midnight we advanced about
16 miles; the engine was used as compound during the last
watch.
After midnight on August 13th we steered S. W., then S. and
S.E., the ice continuing to grow slacker. At 3 o'clock we sighted
V^^ A^FE.
iar^-,n:r:-^ v:r:i merr innen -f -sii m»:ii;^TiE iurmir ^le jlhut
r.-. i-L 'i.-x i ftrv niiirit :-v.-T A mac's :f iminMTitimr fej^TTT*r^
came ^'^ -r- ^sch ind t-^* :ne. r :r T-:nie mne ± =e-nied is _f
-Ji^* i--,'i lii jlsct::!" r-iaJze viiac -v* ^anr. 5= j me itrsz 'liiLe. liipcin^
wirir it me Iz^ia- -v-sri in .Iliisicn- i ir^aai- T\»~± -v^ir^ =ciil i
j^'^cfi -Fij iCT-ve me t:CTr:eriT ie^rte :c iirnnie. md x is mlv
in rer^- fiv-nicie i^i^mieri mar ici-fr^e Tr^Zir :grsr.rTt*s =o mr
north- Wer* v-t. cernac*=, in i !ar^ icen cc«:l* Hjii ttc =ciIL
a gr^at be£t cc :ce t: liear-^
No. it W55 real ' Tlie free, inbcuncfed ^ea. tt^s anond 'xs ra
c/er%- sfrle : and tt* f-iit. ■w^iti i ^erise :c nccire. icTr tne r^j:,iK
gently -pirdi'id irltii tiie znz feehte FveiL?.
We paid the f:r-al hisnorr z.z ^ur Ti=c:i£shed antagoofsc by
firiag a th-niierir^ -lalite a^ a fareTreil <Jne zi«3re gaze ar tiie
last faint outlir.es of h-mm-jCics and nces. and the mist coacealed
them from our "Acv,
We no%- shaped our course by the c.jcnpasa 5-S-E^ as the fog
was still so dense that no obser#-ation could be taken. Our plan
was at first to ^tc(:r towards Red Bay. get our landfalL and
thence to follow the -Aest coast of Spitzbergen southward till we
found a suitable anchoring-place. where we could take in water,
shift the coal from the hold into the bunkers, and. in fact, make
the Fram quite ship-^hape for our homei»-ard trip.
At 7 A.M., when the fog lifted slightly, we sighted a sail on to
port, and shajxid our course for her, in order to speak to her and
try to get some news of Dr. Xansen and Johansen. In an hour
or so we were quite near her. She was lying to, and did not
seem to have sighted us until we were close on her. The mate
then ran down to announce that a monster ship was bearing
down upon them in the fog. Soon the deck was crowded with
♦Twenty-eight days' work of forcinj( this more or less closely packed
ice had brought us a distance of i8o miles.
THE THIRD SUMMER 701
people, and just as the captain put his head out the Fram
passed close up on the weather-side of the vessel, and we
greeted her in passingwith a thundering broadside from our star-
board cannon. We then turned round astern of her, and fired
another salute to leeward, after which ** hostilities'* were dis-
continued. No doubt it was a rather demonstrative way of
making ourselves known to our countrymen, who were lying
there so peacefully, drifting in the morning mist, and probably
thinking more of seals and whales than of the Fram, But we
trust that Captain Botolfsen and his crew will forgive us our
overflowing joy at this our first meeting with human beings
after three long years.
The vessel was the galliot Sostrene (The Sisters), of Tromso.
The first question which was shouted to him as we passed
alongside was this: "Have Hansen and Johansen arrived?"
We had hoped to receive a roaring " Yes," and were ready to
greet the answer with a thundering ** Hurrah" and salute; but
the answer we got was short and sad " No."
Captain Botolfsen and some of his crew came on board to us,
and had to go through a regular cross-fire of questions of every
conceivable kind. Such an examination they had certainly
never been subjected to, and probably never will be again.
Among the many items of news which we received was one
to the effect that the Swedish aeronaut. Engineer Andr^e, had
arrived at Danes Island, intending to proceed thence by balloon
to discover the North Pole.
Botolfsen came with us as a passenger, leaving his vessel in
charge of the mate, and accompanied us as far as Tromso. We
reshaped our course about noon for Red Bay, intending to
steam from there to Danes Island and see Mr. Andr^e. About
midnight we sighted land ahead, and supposed it to be the cape
immediately to the west of Red Bay. It was 1041 days since
we last saw land.
We lay to for some time at this point, waiting for the fog to
clear away sufficiently to allow us to find the landmarks. As
it did not clear, we steamed slowly westward, taking frequent
soundings, and soon found ourselves, as we anticipated, right
702 APPENDIX
in " Norsksundet " (Norwegian Sound), and proceeding up, we
anchored at 9.30 A.M., off ** HoIIaendernaeset " (Dutch Cape^.
The fog was now cleared, and we soon saw the steamship
Virgo, of the Andr^e Expedition, and the balloon-house ashore.
Through the telescope we could see that our arrival had
been observed, and a steam-launch soon came alongside with
Mr. Andr^c, the other members of the expedition, and Captain
Zachau, of the Virgo.
Neither could these gentlemen give us any news of the fate
of our comrades. Our spirits became still more depressed than
before. We had confidently expected that Nansen and Johan-
sen would reach home before us. Now it seemed as if we were
to be the first to arrive.
We did not, however, entertain any serious fears for their
safety, especially when we learned that the Jackson expedition
had spent two winters in Franz Josef Land. It was highly prob-
able that Dr. Nansen and Johansen would sooner or later meet
with this expedition, and were, perhaps, only waiting for a
chance of getting home. But if they had not met with Jackson,
something had evidently gone amiss with them, in which case
they needed assistance, and that as soon as possible.
Our plans were soon laid. We would hurry home to Tromsd
to get reliable information, and, in case nothing had been learned
there either, we would complete our coal supply — we were not
in want of anything else — and immediately proceed to Franz
Josef Land, to make a search for them, and, as we hoped, have
the unspeakable pleasure of bringing them home to our expect-
ant fatherland in our own faithful Fram.
Our stay at Danes Island was consequently cut as short as
possible. We paid visits to the Virgo, saw the balloon, which
was now ready to start as soon as a favorable wind would per-
mit of it, and received return visits from our amiable Swedish
friends. During the night we finished taking in water and
shifting the coal; the vessel was ready for sea, and at 3 A.M. on
August 15th the Fram steamed off, with sails set, through
Sneerenburg Bay and out to sea.
During the passage across we had good weather and a fair
THE THIRD SUMMER 703
and often fresh breeze, the vessel making good speed : upward
of 9^ knots.
At 9 A.M. on the 19th we saw the first blue ridges of our
native mountains. By noon we sighted Logo, and at 8 P.M. the
north point of Loppen. Then we steered into Kvaenangen
Fjord, and anchored off Skjaervo at 2 o*clock in the morning of
August 20th.
As soon as the anchor had fallen, I called the doctor and
Scott-Hansen, who both wanted to go ashore with me. But as
they were too slow with their toilet, I asked Bentzen to put me
ashore in the pram, and was soon at the telegraph station, where
I tried to knock life into the people by thundering with my
clinched fist first at one door, then at another, but for a long
time in vain. At last a man put his head out of a window on
the second floor to inquire what kind of night-prowlers were
making such a disturbance. It was the chief of the telegraph
station himself. He describes the nocturnal incident in a letter
to one of the Christiania newspapers in the following pleasant
manner :
" It was with anything but amiable feelings and intentions
that at about half-past four I turned out to see what wretch
it was who was making such a lively rattle at my front door.
Rather lightly clad, I put my head out of the window, and
roared out, * Hallo! What's the matter? Deuce of a noise to
make at this time of night !'
** A man dressed in gray, with a heavy beard, stepped for-
ward. There was something about his appearance that made
me think at once that I had perhaps been somewhat too hasty
in giving vent to my displeasure at being called up, and I felt a
little crestfallen when he slyly remarked, * Yes, that's true ; but
all the same I must ask you to open the door. I come from the
Fram' Immediately it dawned upon mc who it was. It could
be none other than Sverdrup. * Coming directly, captain,' I an-
swered, and jumping into the most necessary clothes, down I
went to let him in. He was not at all annoyed at the long
waiting, or the unfriendly words with which he had been re-
704 APPENDIX
ceived, when he set foot again in his native country after the
long and famous expedition, but was very kind and good-hu-
mored when I begged his pardon for the rudeness with which I
had received him. In my inmost heart I made an even warmer
apology than I had stammered out in my first embarrassment.
** When Sverdrup was seated, the first question was naturally
as to the way he had come. They had just arrived from oflf the
coast of Spitzbergen. On the 13th they had got out into open
water, where they almost immediately met with Captain Botolf-
sen, from Tromso, who was there with his whaling-ship. They
had brought him with them. They had next visited Andr^e, who
was about to pack up and go home, and had then proceeded to
this place. They had first learned from Botolfsen, and then
from Andree, who ought to have had some of the latest tidings
from Norway, that nothing was known about Nansen, whom
they hoped to find at home, and the joy they were feeling at
the prospect of reaching home soon was considerably damped
by this news.
" * Ah, but I can give you news of Nansen,' said I. * He ar-
rived at Vardo on August 13th, and is now at Hammerfest.
He's probably starting for Tromso to-day in an English yacht.'
" * Has Nansen arrived?*
" The stalwart form bounded up in a state of excitement rare-
ly shown by this man, and exclaiming, * I must tell the others at
once,' he vanished out of the door.
" A moment later he returned, accompanied by Scott-Hansen,
Blessing, Mogstad, and Bentzen, all of them perfectly wild with
joy at the latest news, which crowned all, and allowed them to give
full vent to their exultation at being once more in their native land
after their long and wearisome absence, which the uncertain fate
of their leader and his comrade would otherwise have damped.
And they did rejoice! * Is it true? Has Nansen arrived?' was
repeated on all sides. * What a day this is, what joy ! And
what a curious coincidence that Nansen should arrive on the
same day that we cleared the last ice and steered homeward !*
And they congratulated each other, all quivering with emotion,
these sturdy fellows.
THE THIRD SUMMER 705
" In the early morning two thundering reports were suddenly
heard from the Fram, followed by the ringing cheers of the
crew in honor of their absent comrades. The inhabitants of
the place, who were fast asleep, were quite startled, and soon
got out of bed ; but when it finally dawned upon them that it
could be none other than the Fram, they were not slow in turn-
ing out to have a look at her. *
" As they anchored here, the fragrance of the new-mown hay
was wafted to them from the shore, and to them it seemed mar-
vellous. The green meadows with their humble flowers, and
the few trees bent and almost withered by the merciless wind
and weather, looked to them so delightful that our poor island
was a veritable Eden in their eyes. * Yes, to-day they would
have a good roll on the grass.'
" For the rest, Mother Nature was as smiling and festally
arrayed as could be expected so late in the year in these north-
ern latitudes. The fjord was calm, as though it feared by the
faintest ripple to interrupt the tranquillity which enveloped the
tried and weather-beaten warrior now resting upon its smooth
surface.
" They were all quite enthusiastic about the vessel. I do
not believe there is a man on board who does not love the
Fram, Sverdrup declared that a * stronger and finer ship had
never been built, and was not to be found in the wide world !' "
On my way to the fjord I met five of our comrades. Nor-
dahl hurried at once on board with the glad tidings, while the
rest of us settled down with the telegraph manager around a
smoking cup of coffee, which tasted delicious. A better wel-
come we could not have had. But it did not end with the
coffee or with the telegraph manager. Soon the popping of
champagne corks sounded successively in the houses of the
store-keeper and local magistrate, while the telegraph manager
sent message upon message announcing our arrival to Dr. Nan-
sen, his Majesty the King, the Norwegian Government, and to
relations and friends.
At 10 A.M. we weighed anchor and set off to meet Nansen
11.-45
7o6
APPENDIX
and Johansen at Tromso, passed to the north of Skjaervd,
and steamed south. Off Ulfstinden we met the steamer King
Halfdan, with 600 passengers on board, coming from Tromso
to meet us. We accepted the offer to take us in tow, and at
8,30 P.M. the From ghded into the harbor of TromsS, accompa-
nied by hundreds of flag-covered boats, and was received with
cheers and hearty welcome.
Next day, August 25th, at 4 P.M., Sir George Baden-Powell's
steam-yacht Otaria, with Dr. Nansen and Johansen on board,
arrived. After a separation of seventeen months, our number
was again complete, and the Norwegian Polar Expedition was
once more united.
CONCLUSION
By Dr. Nansen
What, then, are the results of the Norwegian Polar Expedi-
tion ? This is a question which the reader might fairly expect
to find answered here ; but the scientific observations brought
back are so varied and voluminous that it will be some time
yet before they can be dealt with by specialists and before any
general estimate of their significance can be formed. It will,
therefore, be necessary to publish these results in separate
scientific publications; and if I now attempted to give an idea
of them, it would necessarily be imperfect, and might easily
prove misleading. I shall, therefore, confine myself to pointing
out a few of their more important features.
In the first place, we have demonstrated that the sea in the
immediate neighborhood of the Pole, and in which, in my
opinion, the Pole itself in all probability lies, is a deep basin, not
a shallow one, containing many expanses of land and islands, as
people were formerly inclined to assume. It is certainly a con-
tinuation of the deep channel which extends from the Atlantic
Ocean northward between Spitzbergen and Greenland. The
extent of this deep sea is a question which it is not at present
easy to answer ; but we at least know that it extends a long way
north of Franz Josef Land, and eastward right to the New
Siberian Islands. I believe that it extends still farther east, as,
I think, may be inferred from the fact that the more the
Jcannette expedition drifted north, the greater depth of sea did
they find. For various reasons, I am led to believe that in a
northerly direction also this deep sea is of considerable extent.
In the first place, nothing was observed, either during the drift
7o8 APPENDIX
of the Fram or during our sledge expedition to the north, that
would point to the proximity of any considerable expanse of
land ; the ice seemed to drift unimpeded, particularly in a
northerly direction. The way in which the drift set straight to
the north as soon as there was a southerly wind was most strik-
ing. It was with the greatest difficulty that the wind could
head the drift back towards the southeast. Had there been
any considerable expanse of land within reasonable distance to
the north of us, it would have blocked the free movement of
the ice in that direction. Besides, the large quantity of drift-
ice, which drifts 30uthward with great rapidity along the east
coast of Greenland all the way down to Cape Farewell and
beyond it, seems to point in the same direction. Such exten-
sive ice-fields must have a still. larger breadth of sea to come
from than that through which we drifted. Had the Fram con-
tinued her drift instead of breaking loose to the north of Spitz-
bergen, she would certainly have come down along the coast of
Greenland ; but probably she would not have got close in to
that coast, but would have had a certain quantity of ice be-
tween her and it; and that ice must come from a sea lying
north of our route. On the other hand, it is quite probable that
land may exist to a considerable extent on the other side of the
Pole between the Pole and the North American archipelago.
It appears to me only reasonable to assume that this multitude
of islands must extend farther towards the north.
As a result of our expedition, I think we can now form a
fairly clear idea of the way in which the drift-ice is continually
moving from one side of the polar basin north of Bering Strait
and the coast of Siberia, and across the regions around the
Pole, and out towards the Atlantic Ocean. Where geographers
at one time were disposed to locate a solid, immovable, and
massive ice-mantle, covering the northern extremity of our
globe, we now find a continually breaking and shifting expanse
of drift-ice. The evidence which even before our expedition
had induced me to believe most strongly in this theory is sup-
plied by the Siberian drift-wood that is continually being car-
ried to Greenland, as well as the mud found on the ice, as it
CONCLUSION 711
could scarcely be of other than Siberian origin. We found sev-
eral indications of this kind during our expedition, even when
we were as far north as 86°, furnishing valuable indications as to
the movement of the ice.
The force which sets this ice in motion is certainly for the
most part supplied by the winds; and as in the sea north of
Siberia the prevailing winds are southeasterly or easterly,
whereas north of Spitzbergen they are northeasterly, they must
carry the ice in the direction in which we found the drift.
From the numerous observations I made I established the ex-
istence of a slow current in the water under the ice, travel-
ling in the same direction. But it will be some time before
the results of these investigations can be calculated and
checked.
The hydrographic observations made during the expedition
furnished some surprising data. Thus, for instance, it was
customary to look upon the polar basin as being filled with
cold water, the temperature of which stood somewhere about
— 1.5*^0. Consequently our observations showing that under
the cold surface there was warmer water, sometimes at a tem-
perature as high as -f 1° C, were surprising. Again, this water
was more briny than the water of the polar basin has been
assumed to be. This warmer and more strongly saline water
must clearly originate from the warmer current of the Atlantic
Ocean (the Gulf Stream), flowing in a north and northeasterly
direction off Novaya Zemlya and along the west coast of Spitz-
bergen, and then diving under the colder, but lighter and less
briny, water of the Polar Sea, and filling up the depths of the
polar basin. As I have stated in the course of my narrative,
this more briny water was, as a rule, warmest at a depth of from
200 to 250 fathoms, beyond which it would decrease in tem-
perature, though not uniformly, as the depth increased. Near
the bottom the temperature rose again, though only slightly.
These hydrographic observations appear to modify to a not
inconsiderable extent the theories hitherto entertained as to the
direction of the currents in the northern seas ; but it is a diffi-
cult matter to deal with, as there is a great mass of material,
712 APPEXDIX
and its further treatment will demand both time and patience.
It must therefore be left to subsequent scientific publica-
tions.
Still less do I contemplate attempting to enter here into a
discussion on the numerous magnetic, astronomical, and meteo-
rological obser\'ations taken. At the end of this work I merely
give a table showing the mean temperatures for each month
during the drift of the Fram and during our sledging expedi-
tion.
On the whole, it may probably be said that, although the
expedition has left many problems for the future to solve in
connection with the polar area, it has, nevertheless, gone far to
lift the veil of myster>' which has hitherto shrouded those
regions, and we have been put in a position to form a tolerably
clear and reasonable idea of a portion of our globe that formerly
lay in darkness, which only the imagination could penetrate.
And should we in the near future get a bird's-eye view of the
regions around the Pole as seen from a balloon, all the most
material features will be familiar to us.
But there still remains a great deal to be investigated, and
this can only be done by years of observation, to which end a
new drift, like that of the Fram, would be invaluable. Guided
by our experience, explorers will be in a position to equip them-
selves still better ; but a more convenient method for the scien*
tific investigation of unknown regions cannot easily be imagined.
On board a vessel of this kind explorers may settle themselves
quite as comfortably as in a fixed scientific station. They can
carry their laboratories with them, and the most delicate experi-
ments of all kinds can be carried out. I hope that such an ex-
pedition may be undertaken ere lon^, and if it goes through
Bering Strait and thence northward, or perhaps slightly to the
northeast, I shall be very much surprised if observations are not
taken which will prove of far greater scope and importance than
those made by us. But it will require patience: the drift will
be more protracted than ours, and the explorers must be well
equipped.
There is also another lesson which I think our expedition has
CONCLUSION
713
taught — namely, that a good deal can be achieved with small
resources. Even if explorers have to live in Eskimo fashion and
content themselves with the barest necessaries, they may, pro-
vided they are suitably equipped, make good headway and cover
considerable distances in regions which have hitherto been re-
garded as almost inaccessible.
Mean Temperaturi^s (Fahr.) for i
Drift of the '■
' Month during the
Months
1893
i8m
189s
1896
January ....
32.3
-k.
-353
February
-32'
-34.2
-30.5
-35-1
— '-7
April .
- 6.1
May .
-J- 13-8
+ io.a
+ 12.6
jdy ;
+ 19-3
-I-28.Q
-1-28.9
-(-324
+ 32-5
-(-31-8
4- 30-2
+ 27-3
+ 34.1
September
-I-29.1
-(- 17.1
+ 14-9
October .
- 8-S
- 6.2
November
-23.6
December . , .
-30.8
-^27.
Continuous Periods of Temperature under —40°
Dates
Jamjarv
Februarv
March
November
December
1894
-]i4 to IS
( 27 10 39
3 to 7
II to 19
23 10 24
5 to IS
17 to 19
35 to 26
14 to 15
8 to 10
17 to 18
30 to i'
'89s
1 .4 10 .8
\ 23 to 26
9 to 10
13 to 16
18 to 23
;iS3
20 to 23
7_»_8
1896
j29ttoi8
4 to 9
4 to 5
zz
—
714
APPENDIX
The Mean Temperature of the Twenty-four Hours for these
Periods
Years
1894
1895
1896
January
-36.8
-39.1
-40.5
— 41. 1
— 46.3
— 4«;.8
j-JL
February
-48.S
— 43.4
-38.6
— 41.4
— 431
— 42.2
— 41.1
— 43-2
March
— 47.9
-45-8
— 40.2
-39.8
— 37.7
-35.7
November
— 42.3
41. 1
December
— 40.7
-37.3
— 42.7
-39.5
INDEX
Accounts, statements, I, 56, 57.
Address before Christiania Geographical
Society, 1, 15.
Address to crew of the Fram, explaining
objects of sledge expedition, II, 8.
Adelaide's Island, II, 344.
Adverse opinions on proposed expedition,
I, 40.
Aker's Mechanical Factory, engine of the
Fram built at, I, 68.
Alcyonaria, I, 298.
Alden, the Fram passes, I, 95.
Alexander's Island, II, 378 (Note).
Alexandra Land, II, 510 (Note).
Algjc —
Ice- water containing, I, 290, 503,
508, 513, 515; II, 356.
Snow colored by, II, 356 (Note).
Almquist's Islands —
Fram passes, I, 209.
Position on Nordenskjttld's Map, I,
189.
American expeditions, sledges used on,
1.8
Ammonites, II, 553 (Note).
Amphipoda, I, 254, 274, 399; II, 685.
Amundsen, Anton. Chief Engineer of the
Fram^ I, 78.
Devotion to engine, I, 238.
Indifference to cold, II, 74.
Andree, visited on Danes Island by crew
of Frnm, II, 701.
Archer, Colin, builder of the Fram, I, 57.
Article in Norsk Tidsskrift for
Sovasen, I» 59^
Farewell salute to, I, 83.
Nansen's thoughts of, on second
birthday of the Fram, I, 570.
Arctic Rose Gull. (See Ross's Gull.)
Arctic thirst, immunity from, on sledge
journey, II, 150.
Argillaceous schist, Helland's Foreland,
II. 371.
Armitage, member of Jackson - Harms-
worth expedition, II, 534.
Asplenium (Petruschinense), II, 563.
Astronomical instruments, I, 73, 74 ; II,
124.
Astronomical observations —
Hansen in charge of, I, 243.
Method of conducting, I, 363.
Astrup, immunity from scurvy, I, 586.
Auks, II, 255, 282, 305, 356, 358, 372,
409. 465, 466, 471, 475, 501, 503, 517,
525, 564, 688.
Aurora Borealis, I, 253. 298, 299, 309,
312, 314, 315, 320, 416, 419, 550,
561, 567, 568, 575 : II, 44.
Inclination of magnetic needle prob-
ably connected with, II, 19.
Streamers influenced by direction of
wind, Nansen's theory, I, 306.
Austria Sound —
Payer's expedition through, Nansen
reading. II, 75.
Sledge expedition passing through,
possibility of, I, 584.
Austro- Hungarian expedition (1872-74),
I, 12.
Awning over deck of the Fram, I, 549,
550.
B
Bacteria found in ice-water, I, 514, 515.
Baden-Powell, Sir George, meets Nansen
at Hammerfest and places |iis yacht at
his disposal, II, 586.
Balaena, II, 558.
Bandaging lessons, in preparation for
sledge expedition, II, 70.
Barometers taken on sledge expedition,
II, 124.
Basalt rocks, II. 353 (Note), 358, 372,
378. 379. 493. 501, 503. 553. 559-
Cape Flora, formation contrasted
with that of Spitzbergen and
Northeast Land, II, 553.
Bathing alongside Fram, I, 441.
7i6
INDEX
Baths—
Fram, I, 405.
Vads5, I, 102.
Bears, I. 171, 203, 265, 283, 285, 286,
338, 341, 435, 437. 40. 4^4. 522,
572; II, 20, 218, 233. 253. 310,
335. 345. 355. 370, 37i. 383. 389.
392. 402, 413, 421, 424. 433. 466,
472, 476, 478, 490. 541. ^38, 675,
688, 690, 691.
Hansen, Blessing, and Johansen at-
tacked by, I, 260.
Johansen's narrow escape from, II,
329.
Bear*s-flesh —
Daily meal during winter in hut, II,
428.
Excellence of, II, 314.
Bearskin bed, II, 309.
Bear-trap, I, 337, 338.
Beian, Sverdrup and Professor Br5gger
join the Fram at, 1, 98.
Bek, Andreas, stories of, I, 378, 379.
Belemnites, II, 553.
Bentzen, Bernt, member of expedition, I,
80, lOI.
Bering Strait —
Current (see that title).
Expedition taking route, I, 12, 13.
Future expedition through, probable
value of, II, 712.
Ice-drift, north of, II, 708.
Bielkoff Island, I, 227.
Bieloi-Ostrov, I, 153.
Bird life. I, 468 ; II, 229, 282, 305, 313,
465, 617, 666 (see also names of different
species).
Bjornsen, B., greeting on launching of
the Fram, II, 25.
Black-backed gulls, II, 356.
Black guillemot, 1, 468 ; II, 232, 617, 634,
688, 692.
Blanket-trousers, II, 479.
Blessing, Henrik Greve, doctor and bot-
anist to expedition, I, 78.
Bandaging lessons to Dr. Nansen and
Johansen previous to start on
sledge journey, II, 70.
Bear encounter, I, 260.
Birthday celebrations, I, 255.
Editor of the Framsjaa, I, 317.
Kayak -building, II. 12.
Photographs copied by, II, 82.
Scientific observations undertaken
by.. I, 245.
Specimen-collecting, I, 502.
Blomqvist, member of Jackson- Harms-
worth expedition, II, 534.
Sails on the Windward, II, 576.
Blubber, excellent substitute for butter,
11,295.
Blue-bells, tundra-plains of Asia, I, 122,
123.
Blue gull, I, 468.
Boats-
Carried by the Fram, I, 72.
Long-boat, ready for emergencies, II,
624.
Boats and sledges combined, first use for
Arctic expedition, I, 9.
Books —
Frames library, I, 73.
Longing for, during life in hut, II,
• 457.
Boots, "komager," used on sledge jour-
ney. II, 117, 229,484.
Botolfsen, Captain of the Sostreru, II, 701.
Brandy, injurious in northern regions :
Dr. Nansen's opinion, I, 143.
Brauii Island, conjecture as to position,
11. 548.
Bread used on sledge journey, II, 126,
207, 248.
Brttgger, Professor, joins the Fram at
Beian, I, 98.
Brown, Captain of the IVindivard, II,
573. 578.
Bruce, Dr., member of Jackson- Harms-
worth expedition, II. 573.
Bruce Island, II, 510 (Note).
Brtlnnich's guillemot, II, 281.
Bruun, Apothecary, medicine supply con-
tributed by. I, 98.
Bugs on board the Fram, I, 233. 266.
Burgess, Mr., member of Jackson- Harms-
worth expedition, II, 534.
Sails on the Windward, II. 576.
Burgomasters, II, 379, 386. 475.
Butter used on sledge journey, II, 126,
246.
Cable, converted into sounding-line, I,
464, 465.
Cape Barents, II, 511.
Cape Buda-Pesth, II, 549.
Cape Butterless, I, 202.
Cape Chelyuskin, I, 212, 215.
Cape Clements Markham, basalt rock, II,
555.
Cape Fisher, II, 501 (Note).
Cape Fligely —
Distance from proposed starting-
point of sledge journey, I, 580.
Speculations as to position with re-
gard to, II, 256, 268, 272.
Cape Flora, geological investigations, II,
550.
INDEX
717
Cape Flora, geological investigations —
Nathorst, Professor, report on, II,
560.
Cape Lapteff, I, 191 (Note).
Cape Lofley, speculations as to position
with regard to, II, 391, 458, 489, 490.
Cape M'Clintock, basalt rocks, II, 493,
554.
Cape Richthofen, II, 504 (Note).
Reached by Jackson, II, 534 (Note).
Card-playing on board the Fram^ I, 364,
365. 517-
Carex cesicaria, boots lined with, on
sledge journey, II, 117.
••Castle" Rock. II, 493.
Cephalotaxus Fortunei, II*, 561.
Chart-room, used as kitchen in summer,
I, 527 (Note).
Chatanga River —
Fram passes north of, I, 225.
Land lying between the Chatanga and
the Anabara, I, 225, 226.
Child, Mr., member of Jackson- Harms-
worth expedition, II, 534.
Sails on the Windward ^ II, 576.
Christiania Fjord, the Fram enters, on
return from expedition, II, 595.
Christiania Geographical Society, Nan-
sen's address before, idea of expedition
first propounded in, I, 14, 15.
Christmas festivities, I, 343, 344; II, 31,
33, 34, 448.
Christofersen, secretary to Nansen, 1, 104.
Leaves the Fram at Khabarova, I,
132, 133. 144.
Meets Nansen at Hammerfest on re-
turn of expedition, II, 588.
Cladophlebis, II, 562.
Clay sandstone. Cape Flora,. II, 553.
Clements Markham's Foreland, II, 363
(Note).
Cleve, I'rofessor, diatoms found in ice-
floes off Greenland Coast, examined by,
I. 39-
Clio Horealis, II, 283.
Clothing, I, 392. 393. 413, 415.
Deplorable condition during life in
hut, II. 434.
Drying clothes on sledge journey,
H. 145-
Equipment for sledge journey, II,
14. 114, 115.
Equipment for southward journey,
II. 474, 484.
Cloudberry flower, tundra-plains of Asia,
I, 123.
Cloudberr)', " Polar champagne 83d de-
gree," II, 33.
Coal found in clay, Cape Flora, II, 553.
Coal- oil apparatus for range-heating, I,
526, 547.
Coal supply for the Fram^ I, 76, 77, 548 ;
II, 650.
Cod, Polar, II, 258.
Cold in Arctic regions, reports exagger-
ated, I, 392. 393.
Committee of expedition, I, 56.
Compasses taken on sledge expedition,
II, 124.
Cooking arrangements —
Fram, I, 526, 527, 547.
Hut, II, 428.
Sledge journey, II, 15, 1 20.
Southward journey after winter in
the hut, II, 483.
Cook's expedition (1776) through Bering
Strait, I, 12.
Coral insects, I, 298.
Crew of the Fram, I, 77.
Courage and cheerfulness, I, 361,
365. 450. 545. 546.
Faith in their leader, I, 535.
Health of, I, 244, 245, 354, 355, 356,
362, 390, 407; II, 627.
Meeting with Nansen and Johansen
on return of expedition, II, 706.
Nansen's address to, explaining ob-
jects of sledge journey northward,
II. 8.
News of safe arrival of Nansen and
Johansen, II, 704, 705.
Occupations during winter, I, 238,
427.
Return to Non^^ay — meeting with
Nansen at Troms6, II, 593.
Crown -Prince Rudolf's Land —
Discovery by Payer, I, 12.
Sighted by Nansen, II, 321, 357.
Speculations as to position with re-
gard to, II, 349. 459.
Crustaceae, I, 298, 399 ; II, 283.
Current from Kering Sea to Atlantic
Ocean, Nansen's theory as to, I, 16,
368, 443.
Current, Nansen's theory, existence of
slow current established, II, 711.
Currents, Hydrographic observation, re-
sults, II, 711.
Czekanowskia, II, 562.
D
Daily life in hut, II, 435, 456, 457.
Daily life on Fram during drift, I, 246.
Danes Island, Andree expedition station-
ed on, visited by the Fram, II, 701.
Danish expedition (Hovgaard's), i, 12.
De Long, Letter to Gordon Bennett, I,
13-
718
INDEX
Denmark Strait, drift-ice of Siberian ori-
gin, I, 23.
Depot of reserve food during life in hut,
II, 429, 482.
Depots on ice near the Fram^ II, 602,
606, 623, 624, 667.
Things taken on board, II, 641, 678,
681.
Depots on New Siberian Islands estab-
lished by Baron Von Toll, I, 75, 76.
Diatoms —
Ice-water, containing, I, 290, 503,
508, 509, 513, 514, 515.
Identical species found in ice-floes off
the east coast of Greenland and
off Bering Strait, I, 38, 39.
Dick, A., contributions to expedition, I,
55. 56. 57.
Dickson, Baron Oscar, electric installa-
tion for expedition, provided by, I, 55.
Dickson's Island, intention to deposit let-
ters on, abandoned, I, 157.
Dogs —
Arrangements for sledge expedition,
I, 446, 581, 585 ; II. 109.
Close confinement on the Fram, I,
254. 255.
Drives with, I, 126, 287, 288, 391,
392,395, 543; II. 82, iio, 151.
Food, I, loi, 581, 582 ; II, 105, 106,
109, 325.
Harness, I, 128 ; II, 16, 102.
Kennels, I, 537 ; II. 657, 658.
Killed by bears, I. 327, 328.
Killed by their fellows, I, 271, 301,
310-
Killed on sledge journey, II, 143,
162, 175, 180. 190, 191, 192. 197,
201, 207, 210, 227, 234, 241, 244,
259. 271, 274, 275, 306, 336.
List of dogs taken on sledge jour-
ney, II, 131.
Number insufficient, II, 163, 167.
Number left on the Fram when Nan-
sen started on sledge expedition,
11,656.
Paralysis in legs, II, 313.
Pemmican-bags attacked by, II, 195.
Puppies, I, 332, 333, 406. 483, 537 ;
II, 656. 657. 6S2.
Accidents to, I. 564, 574 ; II, 6.
Convulsive attacks, I, 420, 421,
422,475,476; II, 556.
Paralysis, I, 479.
Run on ice, I, 475.
Training, I, 545.
Removal to safe quarters on occasion
of great ice-pressure, II, 48, 57.
Return of missing dog, I, 334, 335.
Dogs —
Scent, keenness of, I, 417.
Suflferings on sledge journey, II,
148, 192.
Summer quarters, I, 479, 480.
Temper of dogs brought to ship and
of dogs born on board, diflference
between, II, 661.
Trontheim —
Account of journey with dogs, I,
133. 134.
Delivers dogs to Dr. Nansen, I,
114. "7.
Use of dogs on previous expeditions,
I, 7, 8.
Von Toll, 'Baron, provides dogs for
expedition, I, 75.
Dolgoi, unknown islands descried near, I,
III.
Dove Glacier, conjecture as to position
of, II, 548.
Drift of the Fram —
Chart made by Hansen, I, 539.
Conclusions arrived at from scientific
observations, II, 708.
Latitude and longitude, statements
indicating general course of drift,
1,445 ; II. 644,663.
Measuring, II, 614.
Northward drift, I, 292, 305, 308,
311, 312, 320, 369. 370, 386. 387.
393, 402, 403, 414, 420, 440, 442.
444, 445. 446, 523, 557, 564: II.
24. 31. 33, 61, 64, loi, 613, 614.
662, 663.
Open water, the Fram emerges into,
II, 700.
Second year's drift (northward) near-
ly south of that of first, II, 663.
Southward drift, I, 269, 291, 302,
309, 366, 387, 402, 404, 406, 407.
413,422, 424, 445, 513, 531, 537 ;
II, 21, 76, 82.
Sverdrup's account of drift after
Nansen's departure, II, 601.
Temperature for every month during,
II, 714.
Thickness of ice under the Fram
during drift, I, 459.
Winds, strength influencing, II, 711.
Drift oi Jeannette, I, 13, 17, 540.
Drift-ice, continuous motion of, II, 708.
Denmark Strait, Siberian origin, 1,23.
Greenland, Siberian origin, I, 38, 39.
Drift, sledge journey (Nansen and Johan-
sen), 11,268, 272.
Drift-wood, II, 666, 708.
Nansen's current theory supported
by, I, 20, 21.
INDEX
719
Drowning, Nansen's narrow escape from,
in recovering kayak, II, 513.
Drying clothes on sledge journey, II, 1 16,
145.
Dust collected on ice-surface, microscopic
examination of, I, 503, 504.
Dutch Cape, II, 702.
Dutch, early Arctic explorers, I, 6.
E
Easter-day festivities, II, 175.
Echinus, Torup's Island, II, 355.
Eclipse of the sun, I, 431, 432.
Egeberg, Consul Westye, contributions to
expedition, I, 55.
Egg-hunting, II. 565.
Eider ducks, I, 227 ; II, 503.
Eightieth degree, festivities on passing, I,
387. 388.
Eighty-second degree, festivities, I, 565.
Eighty-three degrees thirty-four minutes,
festivities, II, 60.
Eighty-six degrees ten minutes, festivities,
II, 170.
Ekersund, the From puts in at, I, 88.
Electric light installation, I, 71.
Packed away, II, 651.
Setting up for winter, I, 241.
Successful working, I, 293.
Elida precedes the Fram up fjord on
return to Christiania, II, 596.
Engine of the /raw, I, 68, 69.
Amundsen's devotion to, I, 238.
Preparing for work after drift, II,
684.
Repaired at Khabarova, I, 121.
Trial, as compound engine, II, 693.
Water, accumulation in engine-room,
II, 627, 664.
English, early Arctic explorers, I, 6.
English North Pole Expedition, scurvy
attack, I, 585, 586.
Equipment —
Fram, I, 57.
Sledge expedition (Nansen and Jo-
hansen), II, 112, 285, 314, 317.
481.
Eva's Island, II, 344 (Note).
Farewell to home, I, 81.
Farewell to Norway, I, 104.
Farewell to the Fram on starting on
sledge expedition, II, 132.
Farsund, I, 88.
Fearnley, Thomas, member of committee
of expedition, I, 55, 56.
Contribution to expedition, I, 55.
Feildenia, II, 561.
Ferns, fossil. Cape Flora, II, 562.
Fire-
Petroleum launch on fire, I, 147.
Precautions against, I, 535, 536.
Tent on fire, II, 296.
Finn shoes worn on sledge journey, II,
116.
"Komager" boots substituted for,
II, 229.
Mending, II, 195.
Finsko, sennegraes in, II, 117.
Fish-tlour, Vage's, used on sledge jour-
ney, II, 125.
Fisher, H., member of Jackson- Harms-
worth Expedition, II, 534, 576.
Returns on Windward, II, 577.
Fisher - folks' interest in expedition, I,
96. 97.
I'ishing between ice-cracks, I, 274.
* * Fiskegratin " suppers on sledge jour-
ney, II, 145.
Flagellata, I, 515.
Flora —
Franz Josef Land, II, 558.
Greenland flora, Siberian vegetable
forms contained in, I, 23.
Tundra-plains of Asia, I, 122.
Flour, steamed, used on sledge journey,
II. 126.
Food-
Depots on New Siberian Islands, es-
tablished by Baron von Toll, I, 75,
76.
Fram equipment, I, 72, 73, 246, 367.
Menus (see that title).
Sledge journey, I, 581, 582 ; II. 124,
145, 147, 149.
Daily meals during life in hut,
II, 428, 429.
Depot of reserve food near hut,
II, 429, 482.
Drying food, II, 302.
Meat and fat diet, no injurious
effects felt from, II, 314.
Monotony of diet during life in
hut, II, 461.
Rations, II. 157, 243, 246, 248,
282, 283.
Southward journey after winter
in hut, food for, II, 482, 509.
Foot-gear, sledge expedition, II, 116.
Forge, II, 605, 665.
Forget-me-nots, tundra - plains of Asia,
I, 122.
Forum, Greely's article on proposed ex-
pedition, I, 48.
Fossils. Cape Flora, II, 550, 555, 558.
Nathorst, Professor, report on, II,
560.
720
INDEX
Foxes, I, 197, 297. 335 ; II, 189. 190,
192, 429, 442, 475.
Fram —
Awning stretched over, for second
winter, I, 549.
Birthday celebrations, I, 294, 569.
Change of quarters after Nansen's
departure, II, 606.
Construction and equipment, I, 29,
30, 6r.
Cost of. I, 55.
Crew (see that title).
Drift (see that title).
Frozen into the ice (September 23d),
I. 233.
Ice-pressure, excellent behavior of
ship during, I, no; II, 47,
60, 69.
Blasting the Fram loose from,
II, 642, 686 (see also Ice-press-
ure).
Leakage, II, 643, 664.
Library, I, 73.
Lightening, II, 651.
Nansen's farewell to, on starting on
sledge journey, II, 132.
Photograph taken by moonlight, II,
69.
Safe return to Norway, II, 589, 590.
Sailing of the Fram, Anniversaries,
I, 501 ; II, 299.
SkjsevO, the Fram anchored at, 11,
703.
Spring-cleaning on board, I, 440,
441 ; II, 624.
Sverdrup's account of voyage after
Nansen's departure, II, 601.
Thickness of ice under the Fram
during drift, I, 459.
TromsO Harbor entered on return of
expedition, II, 706.
Trontheim's account of ship and
crew, I, 141.
Warmth and coziness of, I, 305,
490.
Warping ahead through ice-floes, II,
693.
Winter on board, I, 237, 246.
F*-<imsjaa, newspaper, I, 317, 344, 357.
Fianklin expeditions, Nansen reading, II,
23.
Franz Josef Land —
Expeditions to, I, 12.
Extent of archipelago, speculation
as to. II, 557,
Fram^ half-way between New Siberi-
an Islands and Franz Josef Land,
I. 567.
Fram reaching point north of, specu-
lation as to possibility of, I, 53 1,.
540. 579-
Geological investigations, II, 550,.
560.
Map, Nansen's, II, 547, 548.
Position with regard to, Nansen's-
conjectures, I, 414 ; II, 272, 343,
349, 458, 509, 511, 519, 528.
West coast reached by Nansen and
Johansen, II, 355, 360.
Wintering on, II, 391.
** Frederick Jackson Island," name given
to land on which Nansen and Johansei>
wintered, II, 550.
Freeden Island, II, 344 (Note), 548.
Fucup, Torup's Island, II, 355.
Fuel, petroleum, used for sledge expedi-
tion, II, 121.
Fulmars, I, 468 ; II, 229. 281, 313, 340,
408, 475, 502, 617, 634, 688.
Future expedition, Nansen on possibili-
ties of, II, 712.
Gadus Polaris, II, 258.
Geelmuyden Island, II, 378.
Geelmuyden, Professor, supervision of as-
tronomical instruments for expeditioi¥
undertaken by, I, 74.
Geese, I, 159, 160 ; II, 393, 500, 503.
Geographical Society, London —
Contributions to expedition, I, 55,
56.
Nansen's lecture before, I, 32 (Note)^
40, 541-
Geographical Society, Norwe^an, con-
tributions to expedition, I, 56.
Gillis Land —
Proposed sledge expedition, I, 583.
Speculation as to ]x>sition with re-
gard to, II, 459. 488, 489.
Gingkos, II, 561, 562.
Glacier, rumblings in, II, 454 and Note.
Glaucus gulls, II, 356, 408.
Gloves used on sledge journey, II, 118.
Golden plovers, 1, 152.
Goose Island, II, 500, 554.
Goose Land, Novaya Zemlya, failure to*
land at, I, 105.
Greely expedition (1881-84), highest lati-
tude reached previous to Nansen's ex-
pedition, I, 10.
Greely, General, articles on Nansen's
proposed expedition, I, 48, 51.
Greenland —
Drifts on coast, conclusions drawi>
from, II, 708.
Flora, Siberian vegetable forms in-
cluded in, I, 23.
INDEX
721
Greenland —
Sea route between Greenland and
Spitzbergen, I, 11.
Greenland shark, II, 637.
Greenland whale, II, 558.
Guillemots, I, 230, 468 ; II, 232, 281,
471, 634, 692.
Gulf Stream, temperature of Polar Sea
affected by, II, 711.
Gulls, I, 468, 471 ; II. 238, 255, 400,
408, 634.
Glaucus, II, 356, 408.
Ivory, II, 237, 244, 248, 266, 303,
313. 326, 340. 350, 379. 386, 476.
Ross's, I. 471; II, 313, 315, 324,
325. 340.
Silver, II, 273.
Guns taken on sledge expedition, II, 123,
486.
H
Haalogoland, II, 593.
Hagensen, Johan, pilot of Fram from
Bergen to VardO, I, 88.
Hagerup, Secretary, Nansen's telegram
to. on return of expedition, II, 583.
Hammerfest, Nansen and Johansen ar-
rive at, II, 586.
Hansen. S. S., member of expedition, I,
78.
Bear encounter, I, 260, 286.
Chart of drift, I, 539.
Christmas presents, I, 344.
Frozen toes. II, 605.
Hut, building, II, 665.
Kayak adventure, I, 517.
Map of route, II. 82.
Meteorological observations conduct-
ed by, I, 243.
Snow-hut for observations built by,
II. 16.
Tabular form for observations on
sledge expeditions, prepared by,
II. 16.
Harelda (ilacialis, I, 121.
Harold Hardrade, Arctic voyage recorded
of. I, 4.
Harp seals. II, 369.
Harper 5 Weekly^ Greely's article on ex-
pedition, I, 51.
Hats, felt.worrt^n sledge journey, II, 1 18.
Hauling harness, II, 275.
Hawk Island, I, 147.
Hay ward, member of Jackson - Harms-
worth expedition, II, 541.
Head covering, worn on sledge journey,
II, 118.
Head shaving on board the Fram, 11,628.
Health of crew (see title Crew).
Heiberg, Axel, contributions to expedi-
tion, I, 55, 56.
Helland's Foreland, II, 366, 371.
Henriksen, Peter Leonard, member of ex-
pedition, I, 79.
Bet with Tuell as to thickness of ice
under the Fram, I, 459.
Expedition up Yugor Strait, 1, 118,
121.
Spitzbergen stories, I, 378.
Wish to join Nansen on sledge jour-
ney, II. 136.
Herltt Fjord, I, 92.
Herring gull, I, 468.
Hestemanden. I, 98.
Hoffmann Island, speculation as to po-
sition, II, 548.
Hollaendemaeset, II, 702.
Homeward march begun, sledge journey,
II, 170.
Homeward voyage on the Wintiward, II,
577.
Hoods worn on sledge journey, II, 118.
Hooker Island, II, 509, 528.
Hooker, Sir Joseph, adverse opinion on
proposed expedition, I, 47.
Houen, Anton, contribution to expedition,
1.55-
Houen's Island, II, 353.
Hovgaard expedition, I, 12.
Hovland, pilot from Christiania to Ber-
gen, I, 88.
Hudson, Henry, expedition (1607) by
sea-route between Greenland and Spitz-
bergen, I, II.
Hummerdus, I, 88.
Hummocks, highest climbed, II, 218.
Hut for scientific observations, II, 664,
665.
Hut, Jackson's, II, 536.
Hut, wintering in —
Building hut, II, 390, 393, 410, 412,
419. 427-
Cooking arrangements, II, 428, 436.
Daily life, II, 434, 456, 457, 464.
Departure on southward journey, II,
487.
Depot of reserve food, II, 429, 482.
•* Frederick Jackson's Island," name
given to land on which hut was
built, II, 550.
Report left in hut, II, 487.
Sleeping-shelf, II, 427.
Speculations as to position, II, 458.
Temperature in hut, II, 435.
Hvidtenland, II, 344 (Note), 458, 548.
Hydrographic equipment for expedition,
I, 74.
Hydrographic observations, results,II, 711.
722
INDEX
Ice —
First meeting with, I, io6.
Hummock, highest climbed, II, 218.
Impracticability for sledge expedi-
tion, Nansen's consideration on
possibility of, I, 584.
Lanes in, I, 455 ; II, 183, 212, 215,
220, 230.
Organisms contained in, I, 290, 502,
503. 514, 515.
Rate of formation, I, 304, 398, 457.
Roughness of surface during late
spring weather, I, 449.
Rubble-ice, II, 168.
Sea - ice only encountered, except
under land, II. 184 (Note).
Shore-ice, II, 242.
Siberia, ice-drift from, II, 140, 190,
708.
Stratified formation, I, 401.
Temperature. 1, 463.
Thickness of ice under the Fram
during drift, I, 459.
Thirst quenched by sucking ice, II,
151 (Note).
Water for cooking, better than snow,
II, 228 (Note).
White reflection from, I, 148.
Winds strongly influencing ice-drift,
II, 711.
Icebergs, II, 344, 350.
Ice-blasting, 1, 343 ; II, 642, 652, 667,
686.
Ice-foot, II, 518 (Note).
Ice-gull, II. 617.
Ice- mews, I, 468.
Ice-pressure, I, 271, 272, 277, 279, 292,
304, 307, 308, 313, 352, 369. 381,
397, 398, 408 ; II, 28, 37, 38, 39,
42. 65, 66, 602, 610, 613, 638, 652,
662, 669, 693.
Blasting, II, 642, 652.
Fram freed from, II, 700.
Preparations for abandonment of the
Fram on occasion of severe ice-
pressure, II, 47.
Removal of high pressure-ridge, II,
605.
Infusoria found in ice- water, I, 515.
Inglefield. Sir E., favorable view of pro-
posed expedition, I, 45.
Instruments for scientific observations —
Fram equipment, I, 72.
Sledge expedition, II, 124.
l5venskiold, C., contribution to expedi-
tion, I, 55.
Ivory gulls, II, 237, 244. 248, 266, 303,
313. 326, 341, 350, 379. 386, 475.
Jackson, F. —
Aid given to Nansen in preparation
of maps and plans, II, 547.
Cape Richthofen, most northerly
point reached by, II, 504.
Hut, II, 536.
Nansen meeting with, II, 522.
Jackson's map —
*'King Oscar Land/-' error in posi-
tion on, II, 379 (Note).
Used by Nansen in preparing his
sketch-map of Franz Josef Land,
II, 548.
Jackson- Harmsworth expedition, I, 12.
Nansen's meeting with, II, 522.
Jacobsen, T. C, mate of the Fram^ I,
78.
Reindeer stalking, I, 160.
Sledge building for northward expe-
dition, II, 73.
Jarlsberg, Baron Harald Wedel, contribu-
tion to expedition, I, 55.
Jeannette expedition (1879-81) —
Drift, I, 12, 13, 16. 17, 540.
Frames drift compared with, I, 540.
Ice-water, distilling before drinking,
unnecessary trouble, II. 228.
Scurvy, immunity from, I, 586.
Johansen, F. H., member of expedition,
I. 79-
Bandaging lessons in preparation for
sledge journey, II, 70.
Bear attack, narrow escape, II, 329.
Birthday feast, II, 210.
Chosen as Nansen's companion on
sledge journey, II, 2, 7.
Kayak building, II, 12.
Meteorological observations, I, 243,
363.
Journals —
Difficulty of writing during life in
hut, II, 436.
Duplicate carried by Nansen on
sledge expedition, II, 16.
Juell, A., steward and cook of the Fram^
I. 78, 79.
Bet with Peter as to thickness of ice
under the Fram^ I, 459.
Dog- tailor, II, 16.
Julianehaab. drift from "irreck of the
JeanneiU discovered near, I, 17.
K
Kamenni Islands, I, 158.
Kane's expedition, inadequate prepara-
tions, 1. 353.
Kara River, I, 149.
INDEX
723
Kara Sea —
Fram sails into, I, 147, 148.
View of, from Siberian coast, I, 124.
Karl Alexander Land, II, 550.
Kayaks —
Bags stufTed with pemmican placed
under. II, 82, 86.
Building, I. 510. 515. 516, 523, 525 ;
II, 12, 13. 112, 648.
Crossing ice-lanes, II, 139 (Note), 329.
Drifting. Nansen nearly drowned in
recovering, II, 512.
Food, arrangement in, II, 157.
Hansen's adventure in, I, 517.
Preparing for sledge journey after
winter in hut, II, 483.
Rate of progress, II, 346.
Repairing, II, 194, 239, 241, 246,
247, 248,306, 314.483-
Sledges to be abandoned for, II,
282.336.
Kelch, Nikolai, contribution to expedi-
tion, I, 75.
Khabarova —
Churches, I, 115.
Festival of St. Elias, I, 128.
Fram puts in at, I, 112.
Russian traders, I, 140.
Trontheim's meeting with Nansen,
I, 113-
King Hal/dan tows the Fram into Trom-
s6 harbor, II, 706.
King of Norway-^
Contribution to expedition, I, 54.
Medal presented to Trontheim, I,
144-
King Oscar's Bay, I, 218.
King Oscar's I^and —
Extent probably not great, II, 556.
Jackson's Map, error as to position,
II, 379(iNote).
Speculation as to position with re-
gard to, II, 459.
Kinn, I, 95.
Kitchen, chart-room used as, in summer,
1.527.
Kittiwakes. I, 468 ; II, 341, 408, 503,
617, 692.
Kjellman's Island —
Fram anchors at, I, 160.
Unknown lands near, I, 159.
Kjollefjord, the Fram puts in at, I, 102.
Kjftsterad, A. S., contribution to expedi-
tion, I, 55.
Knipa Sound, I, 184.
Knudtzon, Consul N. H., contribution to
expedition, 1, 55.
Koetlitz, Dr., member of Jackson- Harms-
worth expedition, II, 534, 550.
Koldewey expedition (1869-70), I, 11.
*' Komager " boots worn on sledge jour-
ney, II, 117,229.485.
Repairing, II, 485.
KongespeiUt, polar ice described in, I,
5.
Kope]x>dse, I, 274.
Kotelnoi, I, 228.
Kryloff, account of Trontheim's journey
with dc^s, written by, 1, 134.
Kvaenangan Fjord, II, 703.
Kvarvan, I, 91.
Laminaria, II, 308.
Lamps —
Fire caused by explosion, II, 296.
"Primus," cooking with, on sledge
expedition, II, 121.
Train-oil, II, 353, 426, 436.
Land —
Frames first sight of, on homeward
voyage, II, 701.
Sledge journey, Nansen's first sight
of, II, 319.
Lanes in ice, kayaks or sledges crossing,
II. 329.
Lang5ia, unknowns islands descried near,
I, III.
Lapteff, I, 209.
Lams argentatus, II, 238, 266, 273.
Larus eburneus, I, 468 ; II, 303, 475.
Larus glaucus, II, 475.
Larus tridactylus, II, 617.
Latitude and longitude : statements show-
ing drift of the Fram^ I, 445 ; II, 643,
663.
Leigh-Smith —
Franz Josef Land visited by, I, 12.
Nansen's speculations as to position
with regard to Leigh-Smith's quar-
ters, II. 369, 519.
Length of voyage, speculations as to, I,
521, 539. 540.
Lestris parasiticus, I, 159, 468 ; II, 666.
Library on board the Fram^ I, 73.
Lister Fjord, the Fram puts in at, I, 88.
Little auks, II, 255, 282, 305, 355, 358,
372, 410, 465, 466, 471. 476, 503, 617,
634, 688, 692.
Liv's birthday, II, 66, 455.
*• Liv's Island." II, 344 (Note).
Lobscouse suppers, II, 144.
Lockwood, highest latitude reached by,
previous to Nansen expedition, I, 10.
Lofoten, I, loi.
Log-line for measuring drift, II, 614.
Long-boat, preparing for emergencies, \\
624. 651.
724
INDEX
Long-tailed ducks, I, I22. 152.
** Longing Camp," II, 314.
Farewell to, II, 315.
Iceberg or land sighted from, II, 307,
318.
Loon, Yalmal, I, 149.
*• Lovunden " hummock, II, 609.
Lovunen, I, loi.
Lumbago, sufferings from, II, 322, 324.
Lytzen, Mr., discovery at Julianehaab of
drift from the JeannetU, I, 17, 18.
M
Mack, Advocate, contribution to expedi-
tion, I, lOI.
M'Clintock expedition —
Arrangement, good. II, 23.
Scurvy, immunity from, I, 586.
Sledge journey, 1, 8.
M'Clintock, Sir Leopold, adverse opinion
of proposed expedition, I, 41.
Magertt, I, 102.
Magnetic constant, Hansen's observa-
tions, I, 243.
Magnetic equipment carried by the Fram^
I, 73. 74.
Supervised by Neumeyer, I, 74.
Magnetic needle, singular inclination of,
II, 19.
Mangerland, I, 92.
Markham, Albert —
High latitude reached by, I, 10.
Sledge journeys, I, 8, 9, 585.
Markham Sound, speculation as to posi-
tion with regard to, II, 509.
Mary Elizabeth Island, II. 500 (Note).
Matches, precautions against fire, I,
536.
May 17th, celebrations, I, 483 ; II, 218,
628, 683.
Meat —
Fresh, remarkable preservation, I,
496.
Preparations taken on sledge jour-
ney, II, 124.
Meat-chocolate, afternoon refreshment on
sledge journey, II, 150.
Medicine-chest, I, 98.
Sledge journey equipment, II, 126.
Store in long-boat, contents unin-
jured, II, 649.
Medusae, I, 298.
Members of expedition (see Crew of the
Frani).
Menus, feast-days, I, 256, 348, 349. 360,
388, 483, 486, 552. 565. 566 ; II, 24,
33, 170. 176, 210, 218, 320. 449.
Menus, ordinary days, I, 391.
Mergulus alle, II, 255, 465.
Meteorological observations —
Huts built for, II, 16, 664.
Instruments carried by Fram, I, 73,
74.
Instruments carried on sledge jour-
ney, II, 123.
Method of conducting, I, 243, 363.
Microscopical research, Nansen's absorp-
tion in, I, 513, 514, 515. 575.
Midsummer-eve, I, 495, 498 ; II. 299.
Mittens used on sledge journey, II, 118.
Mogstad, Otto Irgens, member of expedi-
tion, I, 80.
Kayak and sledge-building, II, 12,
65, 73.
Mohn, Professor —
Lecture on drift from Xh^ Jeannette,
I, 18.
Meteorological instruments for expe-
dition supervised by, I, 74.
Nansen's expedition and theories ap-
proved of, I, 40.
Nansen's meeting with, on return, II,
583.
Moltke Moe, farewell telegram, I. 359.
Moons, remarkable, I. 294, 296, 297,
306, 307, 338; II, 27, 54. 65.
Mountain poppies, tundra-plains of Asia,
I, 122.
Mud on ice surface, organisms contained
in, I, 298. 504.
Multer, 11, 33.
Murray's silk net, fishing with, I, 274.
Musical instruments on Fram^ I, 142.
N
Nares, Sir George —
Adverse opinion on proposed expedi-
tion, I, 41, 42.
Letters of congratulation to Nansen,
I, 44 (Note).
Nares' expedition (1875-76) by Smith
Sound Route, I, 10.
Narwhals, II, 215, 217, 231, 244, 633,
634, 666.
Nathorst, Professor, report on vegetable
fossils found near Cape Flora, II. 560.
Naturen map, Nansen's conjectures ap-
parently verified by the Frants drift,
I. 541.
Naze, storm off, I, 84.
Neumayer, Dr., magnetic equipment su-
perintended by, I, 74.
New Ltinds ivithin Arctic Circle^ quota-
tion from, II, 549 (Note).
New Siberian Islands —
Food depots established on, I, 75,
76 (Note).
Jeannette expedition. I, 14, 28.
INDEX
725
New Siberian Islands —
Russian expeditions, I, 7, 8.
New-year's-day, I. 357 ; II, 41, 454, 668.
Nicolay sen's plaster used for caulking
kayaks, II, 127.
Night in Arctic regions, I, 252, 431,
557. 558. 567.
Norbeck, engine of the Fram constructed
by. I. 68.
Nordahl, Bernhard, member of expedi-
tion, I, 79.
Assistant in meteorological observa-
tions, I, 243.
Hut-building, II, 664, 665.
Nordenfjeldske Steamship Co., of Trond-
hjem, pilots for expedition supplied
by, I. 88.
NordenskiOld's map —
Islands marked on, not seen by Nan-
sen's expedition, I, 159.
Nansen's remarks on, I, 1 88, 189,
190. 191, 195, 197, 199, 200, 203,
215.
N'ordstjcnien precedes the Fram up fjord
to Christiania, II, 596.
Norsk Tidsskript for Sovaessen^ Colin
Archer's Article in, I, 59.
Norsksundet. II, 702.
North Cape, I, 102.
Northbrook Island, II, 509 (Note).
Basalt rocks, II, 554.
Change in sea-level, II, 557.
Speculations as to position with re-
gard to, II. 528.
Northeast Island, proposed sledge ex-
pedition, I, 583. ,
Northeast Land —
Basalt rocks, II, 553.
Speculations as to position with re-
gard to. 11.459. 460.
Northeast Passage. Weyprecht and Pay-
er's expedition, I, 12.
Northernmost point reached, II, 170.
Norway —
Farewell to, I, 104.
First sight of, from Franiy on home-
ward voyage, II, 703.
First sight of, from Windtoard^ on
homeward voyage, II, 580.
Norwegian Geographical Society's Year-
Book—
Nansen's conjectures. I, 541 (Note).
Norwegian Government —
Contributions to ex[)edition, I, 54, 56.
Telegram to, on return, II, 583.
Norwegian Sound. II, 702.
Novaya Zemlya —
Goose Land, sighted by the Fram^ I,
105.
Novaya Zemlya —
Proposed sledge expedition, I, 584.
IViftdiuard steers for, II, 579.
O
Odometer carried on sledge expedition,
II, 101 (Note), 140, 141.
Onychiopsis, II, 562.
Open water, the Fram enters, after drift,
II, 700.
Otaria, Nansen sails up Norwegian coast
on, II, 586, 590.
Othar, voyage round the North Cape, I,
4.
Painting kayaks, difficulties of, II, 306.
Papaver nudicaule, I, 122 ; II, 353.
Parry's expedition —
Arrangement good, II, 23.
Boats and sledges first used on, I, 9.
Payer —
Expedition, I, 12 ; II, 75, 237, 344
(Note).
Map, II, 548, 556.
New Lands within Arctic Circle ^
quotation from, II, 549 (Note).
Peary expedition —
Scurvy, immunity from, I, 586.
Sledge journeys, I, 8.
Pemmican —
Bags of, placed under kayaks, II, 82,
86.
Supply for sledge expedition, unsat-
isfactory, II, 125 (Note).
Peppervik —
Fram sails from, I, 82.
Welcome on return of the Fram^ II,
596.
Peter Head, II, 510 (Note).
Petermann's Land —
Discovery by Payer, I, 12.
Extent, probably not great, II. 556.
Speculations as to position with re-
gard to, II, 226.
Petermann*s Mitteilunsren, article on pro-
posed expedition, I, 52.
Petrified wood. Cape Flora, II, 553.
Petroleum fuel used on sledge journey,
II, 122, 123.
Petroleum launch —
Accident to. I, 124. 125, 147, 154.
Destruction of, II. 649.
Petroleum store, I, 547 ; II, 122, 123, 207,
353.
Pettersen, Lars, member of the expedi
tion, I, 79.
Cooking undertaken by, II. 665.
Dancing powers, II, 27, 34.
726
INDEX
Pettersen, Lars, nail-making, II, 73.
Shooting practice, II, 634.
Sledge expedition, willingness to join,
I. 523. 533-
Stove explosion, I, 528.
Phoca barbata, I, 192 ; II, 284, 289,
634.
Phoca foetida, I, 234 ; II, 233.
Phoca groenlandica, II, 369.
Phosphorescent water, I, 274.
Photographic camera taken on sledge ex-
pedition, II, 124.
Pine-tree, vegetable fossils, Cape Flora,
II. 560.
Polar cod, II, 258.
Polar Sea, depth of. I, 368, 465 ; II, 620,
647, 651. 678, 707, 711.
Pole, shifting of, conjectures as to, I, 486,
489.
Pools on ice-floes, I, 453.
Poppies. I. 122 ; II, 353.
Preparations for expedition, I, 54.
Preparations for sledge expedition. (See
Sledge Journeys).
Preparations for southward journey after
winter in hut, II, 481, 482.
*' Primus" lamp for cooking, taken on
sledge expedition, II, 121.
Procellaria glacial is, I, 468 ; II, 229,
475, 502.
Ptarmigan, I, 152.
Pterepoda, II, 283.
Pulverized food taken on sledge expedi-
tion, II, 124.
Puppies (see title ** Dogs").
R
Rhodostethia rosea, I, 471 ; II, 313.
Rxkvik, the Fram takes up her long-
boats at, I, 83.
Rainfall, I, 25, 26; II, 246, 308, 323, 341,
655-
Range, coal -oil apparatus for heating, I,
526, 547.
Rawlinson's Sound, II, 349.
Red Bay, II, 701.
Red snow. II, 356. 372.
Reindeer, I, 150, 160, 203, 211.
Reports —
Nansen's, deposited in hut, II. 487.
Sverdrup's, of the Frams drift after
departure of Nansen and Johansen,
II, 601.
Rheumatism. Nansen suffering from, I,
290 ; II. 456.
Richards, Sir G. H., adverse opinion on
proposed expedition, I, 45.
Richardson expedition, well arranged,
11. 23.
Rifle, loss of, I. 201.
Ringed seals, II, 233.
Ringnes, Ellef, member of committee of
expedition, I, 56.
Ringnes, T.. and Co., contribution to ex-
pedition, I, 55.
Rink. Dr., drift-timber found on Green-
land coast presented to, I, 20.
Rissi tridactyla, I, 468.
Rope-walk on ice, 1, 238, 464.
Ross expedition, arrangements good, II,
23
Ross's gulls. I, 471 : II, 313, 315. 324,
325, 341, 343, 344.
Royal Geographical Society, London.
(See ** Geographical Society.")
Rubble ice, II, 168.
Russian expeditions, sledges first used on,
1.7-
Russian traders, Khabarova, I, 113, 140.
Saddleback seals, II, 369.
Sailing on fresh- water pools, I, 454.
Sails for sledges, II, 89.
Saint Peter and Saint Paul Islands, fail-
ing to see, I, 220.
Sand-hoppers. I. 254.
Sandpipers, II, 245.
Sannikoff Land, I, 231.
Saxifrage, I, 122 ; II, 353.
Schist, argillaceous, Helland's Foreland,
II. 372.
Schou Halve, contributor to expedition,
I. 55.
.Scientific observations made on expedi-
tion, separate publication necessary, 11,
707.
Scott- Hansen (see Hansen).
Scurvy, immunity from, I, 585, 586; IL
124, 464.
Sea-slugs, I, 298.
Sea-urchins, II, 355.
Sea- weed, Torup's Island, II, 355.
Seals, I, 192, 197. 203, 234 ; II. 232, 233,
244, 284, 286, 289, 300, 302, 335, 340.
357. 363. 369. 614. 634, 688.
Sennegraes, boots lined with on sledge
journey, II, 117.
Seven Islands, proposed journey to, over
ice, I, 582.
Seven Sisters, I, loi.
Sextant carried on sledge expedition, II,
124.
Sharks, II, 637.
Shellfish, I, 298.
Shoes used on sledge expedition, II, 116,
195-
Shooting competition, I. 517.
INDEX
727
Shooting-Stars, I, 297 ; II, 444.
Shrimps vomited by Arctic rose-gull, I,
472.
Siberia, sledge first used for Arctic ex-
plorations, I, 7.
Siberian drift-wood, I, 22 ; II, 666, 708.
Sibiriakoff colony, Khabarova, 1, 112.
Trontheim's account of life in, I,
140 141.
Silver gull, II, 273.
Simon, H., contribution to expedition, I,
57.
Skjaervd, the Fram anchors at on return
from expedition, II, 703.
Skuas, I, 471 ; II, 379, 409, 666, 688,
692.
Sledge journey (Nansen's and Johan-
sen's) —
Ash-sledges, II, 8i.
Birch-sledge broken up, II, 208.
Cross - bars and bows snapping at
start, return for repairs, II, 99.
Curtailing sledges, II, 348.
Dogs, list of, II, 131 (see also title
"Dogs").
Equipment, I, 581; II, 112, 314, 317.
Food (see that title).
Grips for sledges, II, 285, 306, 314.
Hand -sledges, II, 14.
Hauling harness, II, 275 (Note).
Health good during, II, 247.
Homeward journey begun, II, 170.
Hut (see that title).
Johansen chosen as companion, II,
2,7.
Kayaks (see that title).
Lanes, method of crossing, II, 329.
Maple-guards under sledges, II, 81,
216.
Northernmost point reached, II, 170.
Packing sledges on kayaks, II, 366.
Pattern of sledge used, II, 113.
Preparations for journey, I, 419, 446,
472, 510, 525. 53^ 541, 543. 544.
578 ; II, I. 16, 66, 69, 70, 81, 100.
Rate of travelling, II, 135, 139, 140,
142, 143, 163. 167, 168. 172, 175,
176, 178, 179, 183, 186, 190. 197,
206, 208, 216, 217, 219, 220, 224,
232, 258, 262, 268.
Sails used on, II, 89, 129.
Sleeping-bag (see that title).
Start, 11,98, loi, 105, no, 132.
Sverdrup left in charge of ship, II, i,
91, no.
Temperature of every month, table
showing, II, 597.
Sledge journey, Payer's, II, 75.
Sledge journey southward, Sverdrup's
preparation for, in case of abandonment
of ship, II, 606, 648, 649, 667.
Sleep, time passed in, during life in hut,
II, 464.
Sleeping-bag, II, 16, 86, n8, 146, 147,
155. 314. 317.434, 474» 485.
Sleeping-shelf in hut, II, 427, 434.
Sleeplessness, complaints of, I, 356.
Smith Sound route, expedition by, I,
10.
Smoking on board, regulations, I, 536.
Snails, 11,355-
Sneerenburg Bay, II, 712.
Snipe, I, 149, 231.
Snow, red, II, 356, 372.
Snow-blindness, cases of, I, 492.
Snow-buntings, II, 617, 681.
Snow-owls, I, 123.
Snowshoe practice, I, 541, 543, 576, 577 ;
II, 609.
Snowshoes —
Hut roof supported by, II, 391.
Kayaks stiffened with, II, 340.
Indian snowshoes probably best for
sledge expeditions, II, 207.
Making, II, 76, 606.
Paddles made of, II, 340.
Taken on sledge expeditions, II, 123.
Socks worn on sledge journey, II, 116,
117.
Sokolii, I, 147,
^ostrene^ the Fram meets, on sailing into
open waters, II, 701.
Sounding-line, cable converted into, I,
464.
Southward journey after winter in hut,
11,481.
Spadella, I, 274.
Spaerella nivalis, snow colored by, II,
356 (Note).
Spitzbergen —
Basalt rocks, II, 553.
Development of, news brought by the
Windioard^ II, 574.
Flora, II, 563.
Ice- free waters, I, 4.
Peter's stories, I, 378, 379.
Speculation as to position with regard
to, II, 272, 459, 509, 519-
Sponges, I, 298.
Star- fish, I, 298.
Steinen Island, II, 380 (Note).
Stellaria, II, 353.
Stercorarius crepidata, II, 409.
Stocking- legs or socks worn on sledge ex-
pedition, II, 116.
Slrand-ice, II, 405,
Subscriptions to expedition, I, 54, 56.
Summer day, mildness of, I, 491, 516.
728
INDEX
Sun —
Disappearance of, I, 296, 532 ; II,
666.
Eclipse, I, 431.
Mirage, 1, 394, 395.
Reappearance, II, 76, 107, 678.
Sundt, £., contribution to expedition, I,
55-
Supan, Professor, favorable view of pro-
posed expedition, I, 52.
Sverdrup, Otto Neumann, Commander
of the Fram^ I, 77, 98.
Bags for kayaks made by, II, 82.
Birthday celebration, I, 298.
Command of expedition handed over
to, on Nansen's departure on sledge
journey, II, 91, no, 601.
Expedition up Yugor Strait, I, Ii8,
121.
Illness, II, 22, 27.
Island discovered by, I, 154.
Kayak building, II, 12.
Reindeer stalking, I, 166.
Report of drifting of the Fram after
departure of Nansen, II, 601.
Sledge journey, talking over with
Nansen, I, 578 ; II, I.
Steamship sailing to Spitzbergen,
commanded by, II, 574 (Note).
Telegram to Nansen, on arrival of
the Fraviy II, 589.
Sverdrup's Island, I, 154, 157.
Taimur Bay, I, 209.
Taimur Island, I, 189, 190, 191, 192, 209.
Taimur Strait, I, 190, 199.
Taxites, II, 560.
Tegethoff expedition, I, 9, 14.
Telescope taken on sledge journey, II,
124.
Temperature of ice, I, 463.
Temperature statements, I, 467 ; II, 597,
664, 667, 713, 714.
Polar Seas warmer than hitherto
supposed : conclusion arrived at
from hydrographic observations,
11,7".
Tent taken on sledge expedition, II, 15,
119.
Fire caused by lamp explosion, II,
296.
Hut roofed with, II, 391.
Substitute for, II, 485.
Terns, II, 341.
Theodolite taken on sledge expedition,
II, 124.
Thermometer taken on sledge expedition,
II, 124, 430.
Thom5e —
Electric apparatus constructed by, I,
74.
Hydrographic department, superin-
tended by, I, 74.
Threads, procured from twine and unravel-
ling of bags, II, 465.
Thyrsopteris, II, 562.
Tidal wave, ice-pressure probably influ-
enced by, I, 279.
Tobolsk official newspaper, Trontheim's
account of journey with dogs, 1,133.134.
Tools used in building hut, II, 410.
Torellia, II, 561.
Torgersen, Johan, dogs for expedition to
be delivered by, I, 75.
Torghatten, I, 98.
Tomebohm, Dr., analysis of mud deposit
on drift-ice, I, 39.
Torup, Professor, physiological medicinal
preparations undertaken by, I, 75.
Torup's Island, II, 355 (Note).
Traenen, I, loi.
Troms5 —
Frames outward voyage, I, 98, lOi.
FranCs return, II, 590, 706.
Trondhjem, I, 98.
Trontheim, Alexander Ivanovitch, I, 75.
Account of journey with dogs, given
in Tobolsk official newspaper, I,
133. 134.
Medal presented to, I, 132, 144.
Nansen's meeting with, at Khabaro-
va, I, 113.
Sails for VardO in Urania, I, 144.
Tundra-plains of Asia, I, 123, 137, 138.
U
Ulfstinden, King Hal/dan meets the
Fram oflf, II, 706.
Unknown lands, I, 154, 159, 184, 187,
192 ; II. 344, 505.
Nansen's farewell instructions to Sver-
drup on importance of exploring,
II, no. III.
Urania —
Coal supply to be conveyed to Kha-
barova by, I, 77.
Delay in arrival, I. 114, 132, 144.
Trontheim and Christofersen sail in
her for Vard5, I, 144.
Uria BrUnnichii, II, 281.
Uria grylle, I, 468 ; II, 232, 471.
•'Vadmel" squares used on sledge jour-
ney, II, 117.
Vagen, Fram touches at, lecture and ban-
quet, I, 91.
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